Does complex cyst affect fertility?

[chant84]

Hi I am 31 years old and my husband is 46.  We have been ttc for 2 years and then 8 months ago I had an ectopic pregnancy.  They managed to save my tube.  I never had any issues with ovarian cysts but after my ectopic I started getting a vaginal pain.  It felt like a deep pain and sometimes it burned when we were intimate.  Initially I thought it could be a yeast infection.  I have never had a yeast infection or bacterial vaginosis but all the symptoms of a YI was a bit like the pain I was experiencing.  I spent a lot of money on otc stuff but they seemed to aggrevate the pain.  The pain was affecting me daily and at night I could barely sleep.  The only thing that would help a bit was when I lay in a hot bath.  I started getting spotting mid cycle which was something I have never had.  I started seeing a new doctor which is a specialist gynaecologist. On the ultrasound she picked up a 35mm cyst on the oppposite ovary as the one where the ectopic was.  It looked like a functional cyst but she said she would like to remove it surgically as she could then check my tubes to make sure they were open so we can try and prevent a repeat ectopic.  So I had the cyst removed via laparoscopy and it also showed my tubes were open.  After surgery the pathology reports showed that they cyst was actually a compex cyst.  My doctor was surprised and said it showed all the features of a functional cyst.  She said it was a mucinous cystadenoma.  On my follow up appointment she found that there was still some of the cyst remaining of 10mm.  She said that these cysts has the potential to turn to ovarian cancer but she didnt want to rush back to surgery because she was scared of damaging the ovarian tissue with more surgery.  I was then monitored with CA 125 blood testing.  Right after surgery the blood test was 40 then it gradually came down to 24 and lastly 14.  I believe its supposed to be below 30.  The cyst was benign though but could turn malignant.  Yesterday I went back for a checkup and the cyst was now at 20mm.  My doctor wants to go back into surgery because she said the ovary is playing up and the cyst will just grow again to the size it was.  Im still having some pain but its basically 100% better than it was before the 1st surgery.  My doctor was against removing the ovary but now she asked me if she could remove the ovary if she goes in and the ovary is damaged. She will however try her best to save it so that my fertility doesnt take a knock....

Does this sound about right in the situation?  How will it affect me having one ovary only? Can this type of cyst affect your fertility and does it affect your hormones as Im having very sore boobs for a few weeks now?

[old_before_my_time]

Welcome to the community. I am sorry you are dealing with this. I had a 9.5cm mucinous cystadenoma and was over-treated. My gyn removed all my organs even though the frozen section showed it was a mucinous cystadenoma which are benign tumors. Mucinous ovarian tumors that are cancerous are called mucinous carcinoma. I did not think cystadenomas could turn into cancer but I may be wrong on that.

If there really is a possibility that this cyst is malignant, you would want a gynecologic oncologist doing your surgery since they are the experts. If the frozen section shows that the cyst / tumor / mass is benign, you should not need to lose your ovary. But that also depends on the surgical skills of the surgeon. Some do not have good cystectomy (cyst removal) skills and even if they do, it is easier and maybe more profitable to remove the ovary.

Yes, removal of one ovary can impair fertility and even long-term health. There is no guarantee that the other ovary will take on the functions of the missing one. Plus if something happens to the remaining ovary, you are left without. After menopause, the ovaries switch to endocrine functions versus reproductive and continue producing hormones our whole lives. These hormones are critical for every aspect of health and well-being. I can attest to what happens after the ovaries are removed and it is not pretty!

Women who do not have a genetic risk for ovarian cancer have a very low lifetime risk of only 1.3%. You did not mention if you have a family history so thought I'd throw that out.

Best of luck and keep us posted on what you find out.