to anyone who's had a large cyst...how did you treat it and did you lose your ovary too if removed?

[ALT76]

My cyst is 10cm (about 4 inches) and from what I've read, it's pretty standard procedure to remove them when they are that size.  I was trying the wait and see method of treatment, but me and my friend both agree that my doctor was probably just giving me the week to adjust to the idea of surgery.  The chance that it would shrink to a size that would not be as at risk for torsion in just a week is pretty unlikely.  So I'm wondering if anyone out there had one that shrank really fast and didn't need surgery, but my biggest concern is - those of you that had large ones removed - did you lose your ovary too?  I'm really worried because when he saw it, he shook his head and said "geez, that ovary is COMPLETELY consumed by that cyst!"  Then he immediately started checking out my other ovary and was like "well, that one looks OK" - as if he was thinking "well at least she'll still have that one"

I go back Friday for a follow-up ultrasound to see if it's changed.  My guess is, even if it has shrunk a little, I can't stay on bedrest forever trying not to twist it.  I'd rather just get it out and be done with it.  The only thing stopping me from that is that I don't want to lose my ovary.  I've been TTC for 2 years now on various treatments (on a break right now) and I have PCOS and endometriosis - I've already got enough of an uphill battle that I don't need an additional problem.  

[Jayne17]

Sorry to hear what you're going through. Hopefully your procedure will be v straightforward. I had a 16cm one removed along with my right ovary in Dec 07 and they did it keyhole. Don't worry too much about having an ovary out as the other one should kick in an take over from the one that's removed. And as long as you have lots of eggs in the remaining one you shouldn't have an early menopause either. You might find that you feel a bit emotional for a few months after and the doctors don't always tell you that bit! I had 2 types of scan before my op - the first was an internal one which gives them a better close-up view of what the cyst looks like, and then an external one which gives them a better idea of the size. Hope this helps. Good luck and take care. :-)

[TrudieC]

Hi!  I had a laparotomy with a vertical cut.  Because of the size of my mass and because I have so many adhesions from previous intestinal surgeries I had to have a lap and they did vertical because of my previous scars.  It could be that you have the size and adhesion issue that forces the lap.  I hope you are able to relax until your surgery.  Don't be afraid to ask for something to calm your nerves or help with your pain.  let's hope that once you get this cyst out that your fertility will improve.  I know that cysts can affect you getting pregnant.

Take care, Trudie

[ALT76]

Trudie - thanks for your answers.  Did you have a laparoscopy or a laparotomy?  I'm wondering if they'd be able to do everything laparoscopically or not if they took the ovary.  I wish I'd thought to ask all these questions when I was there - it all happened so fast and was totally unexpected - it was a lot to take in.  I guess I'll just have to wait til Friday, but of course my mind is really going and coming up with all sorts of questions and possibilities.

I actually just had a lap done in december for my endo, but have felt as though it was already coming back.  I'm also concerned that another surgery will only make the endo worse with more scarring/adhesions.  But I just gotta do what I have to do I suppose.

[TrudieC]

Hi there.  I had a 16 cm sized mass of cysts removed and did have the ovary and tube removed along with it.  Mind you I had wanted a total hysterectomy and they weren't able to do that because the scar tissue inside was so bad.  Do know that the other ovary does kick in and take over so if you do need to lose the one let's hope the endo isn't bad (perhaps they can clean some of that up when they are in) and that and the PCOS doesn't affect your chances.  Good luck and please keep us posted.