Ovarian Cyst Surgery when Pregnant

[sarahk]

Hi ladies,

Just wanted to put my story out there (in hope of some comfort/similar stories/what I should expect etc)...

I am 17 weeks pregnant, and I have a 6.8cm complex cyst on my right ovary that is going to be removed in the next couple of weeks. I am TERRIFIED!!!

I have to have open surgery, a very similar surgery to a Caesar. I will be in hospital for a week, and will have a further 6 weeks off work at home to recover.

I had 2 early MC's last year while trying to conceive, although both of those pregnancies only made it to the 5 week mark (both considered Chemical Pregnancies). I was still devastated of course. However, this one is now 17 weeks along, I am clearly showing and almost at the point where I will be able to feel the baby moving. Obviously, I REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to lose my baby.

I have a scan and ob appointment tomorrow to schedule the surgery, and now that the time has come, I am so so so so scared. The waiting has been the WORST part (I found out 4 weeks ago that this would have to happen, so waiting all this time has been torture!!).

Anyone been through this?

[Lulliloo]

i haven't been through this sorry but i just wanted to say congrats on your pg.
also to wish you the best through the surgery.

sorry no help i realise.

[UntoldAngel]

Is there any possibility they delay the surgery til bub is born?

My SIL had an ovarian cyst with her first pregnancy. They monitored it the entire pregnancy, as it continued to grow, and scheduled a c-section for bub and removed the cyst after he was born. Not sure if that is possible for you, but it might save going through surgery at this stage of the pregnancy, and the recovery time is the same.

[sarahk]

Initially my ob was reluctant to make the decision to operate, she even consulted some of her colleagues about it. The problem is that not only is the cyst considered large (anything over 6cm is), but it's also complex (it has some solid components) and therefore potentially cancerous.

Before she decided that it would HAVE to come out, I thought backward and forward about which way was the better way to go. In the end, even though I do not want to do anything to risk the pregnancy, it seemed to be just as scary to have this 'time bomb' ticking inside me. If it ruptured or twisted, the chance of pre-term labour is so high.

When she told me that she had firmly decided that it needed to come out, I think I was relieved that there was a definite decision based on a range of medical opinions. Still very scared though. The information out there is so contradictory and confusing.

I HATE that this is happening!!!!!

[sarahk]

i haven't been through this sorry but i just wanted to say congrats on your pg.
also to wish you the best through the surgery.

sorry no help i realise.

Thanks so much for your best wishes. I appreciate it very much!

[Lisa]

My sister had an ovavian cyst removed when she was pregnant. She was much earlier than you are now though, but she was 10 weeks at the time. Just before Xmas she delivered a perfectly healthy, 11lb bubba.

[sarahk]

My sister had an ovavian cyst removed when she was pregnant. She was much earlier than you are now though, but she was 10 weeks at the time. Just before Xmas she delivered a perfectly healthy, 11lb bubba.

Thank you for sharing a success story! That's what I need to hear!!

Do you know if they were concerned at the time about operating at 10 weeks? I've heard that it's very dangerous in the first trimester?

[Lisa]

They weren't concerned at all for the pregnancy as apparently it is a fairly common operation that is performed during pregnancy. Like you, they were more concerned with my sister and getting the cyst out. My sisters was twisted and very painful. She stayed in hospital for a few days and was a bit tender for about a week but fine in the end.

[dusty]

My mum had cysts removed over 30 years ago & was told by the dr when she came to that she was 12 weeks pg with my brother. She'd had no idea.
Wishing you all the best with your surgery. It sounds like it's in the best interest for both of you.
Xx

[Maruschke]

I need to have one removed, they will schedule it for between 12 and 20 weeks for me (FX, that is soon!).

HTH

[westy]

Hi darl, firstly congratulations on your pregnancy.

I found out during my last pregnancy that i also had a dermoid cyst (the one with hard components in it) which can potentially go cancerous...as i was pregnant they monitored the growth of it throughout the pregnancy, lucky for me it didn't grow at all and there was no rush to get it out during the pregnancy. I was told it needs to come out with 12 months that was 5 months ago so right now i am looking at my options.

I really hope everything goes well for you, surely if it was to dangerous for you or bubby to do they would hold it off until after bub was born, could you maybe get a second opinion to see if they think it's a matter of urgency or if it's safe enough to leave for another 23 odd weeks.

Thinking of you hun and hoping everything goes well. Take care xx

[sarahk]

I need to have one removed, they will schedule it for between 12 and 20 weeks for me (FX, that is soon!).

HTH

Are you as terrified as me? What have your doctors told you about it all?

[sarahk]

Thank you so much to those who have shared their experiences and thoughts. I appreciate it so much.

[natwantsababy]

Hi, I read your post and thought i had to reply! - I really hope i dont freak you out with this but it has a good ending i promise!!!

I had a ovarian mass on my right ovary - it was found when i was 6 weeks pregnant and was 9cm diamter at first sighting it had a complex structure with 8 different chambers - similar to yours. I was told also that surgery was needed urgently to remove the cyst but that they had to wait until 16 weeks and that the procedure a risk of miscarriage. Over the coming weeks i saw numerous specailists and had tones of tests! I actually had a tumor marker done which tells you if there is anything nasty/cancerous and it came back elevated so they also told me that there is a risk of cancer and all sorts of other horrible things! I had numerous hospital stays and it grew to a whopping 16.9cm diamter twisted on itself (the doctors didnt know that it had twisted at the time) and was causing me so much agony i cant even explain. Due to the fact that i was pregnant and couldnt have a MRI or a biopsy they couldnt see the full position of the cyst and see if it was twisted, leaking or ruptured so they said that they needed to operate asap and took me in the next day for surgery at 14weeks. Whilst in surgery they opened me up and the cyst ruptured and went everywhere! I then started to haemorage and then my blood clotted! It was all very intense and took 3.5hrs in total; I have 4 scars (one on the c-section line, one through my belly button and 2 more on my left hand side) and had a big drain coming out of my abdomen for about 4 days to drain the stuff that came out of the cyst when it exploded and to stop infection. I had severe cramping the day after surgery and they thought i was miscarriaging at first and did a scan and couldnt find the heart beat - after another scan they found the heart beat and bub was all ok. The doctors said that i was very lucky and that i was on risk for miscarriage for the next 2 weeks and strict bedrest, no sex etc for 8 weeks (much to my DH's disgust!) But now i am 30weeks pregnant and expecting the birth of our baby boy any week now!! Im not going to lie to you, It was a bit of a rough trot - but it is only the first week that is the hardest - Get up and walk around as soon as you can and get people to help you as much as possible!

How many weeks will you be when they do the surgery? Are they going to remove the whole ovary and tube? They told me that it is best between weeks 13 and 18, Before 13 weeks can pose risks for loosing the baby if the corpus luteum is in the ovary that they need to remove (or the structure itself is actually the corpus luteum) and then after 18 weeks has a high risk of pre term labour due to the general anesthetic and overall procedure. I dont know if you are the same but the doctors and specailists told me that if i was to leave the mass until after the bub had arrived it could be very dangerous - once it gets over a certain size it can apparently twist very easily and rupture which can cause you to bleed out and both you and bubby would be at risk. Also the pressure of labour could do that so based on my experience and what i have been told by many doctors I think you are making the right decision for both you and bubby by having it removed now!

I know that it is very nerve racking and so scary and that no one can say anything to make you feel better but i thought that hearing my little story of what can go wrong and still come out with a good outcome would help you. I still have pain and the doctors said that would happen due to scar tissue etc.

I hope and pray that both you and your bubby are going to be just fine and i really hope that you can find some peace!

p.s - I have 1 little 2 yr old boy and have also had 1 miscarriage and a chemical pregnancy previously (how weird is that!!! Very similar!)

I hope i havent scared you - I just thought that it might help.

Good luck!!!!!!

xxxx Nat

[sarahk]

Thanks for sharing your experience Nat, it was really good to read. Our circumstances were very similar, weren't they?!

Well, I thought I'd do an update, because whenever I search for info on the net I get really frustrated when I read the beginning of a story but never find out how it ended. So, here it is...

I went in for my surgery to remove my 7cm left ovarian cyst 9 days ago. The operation was a full laparotomy which included me being fully anesthetized. I was extremely nervous on the day but was also really beginning to look forward to it being over. My operation went well, my obstetrician removed the cyst and was able to reconstruct the part of my ovary that was affected (so it didn't have to be removed). I woke up and the first thing I was told was that the baby was fine. First hurdle over.

The operation hurt way more than I was expecting, but I really didn't care, as long as the baby was fine. The pain started to get better each day. I was in the shower the morning after the operation (with a nurses help) which was a shock to me! By the second day I was able to shower on my own. My ob came to see me 2 days after the operation and told me that the pathology was back and the cyst was benign. She also said that the incision was looking good. They began monitoring the baby's heartbeat a couple of times a day after the operation. The first 48hours was looking good - 2nd hurdle over.

5 days after my operation, my ob came and took my stitch out and I went home. I was still quite sore and very very glad that my husband's boss has been so amazing and gave him 2 weeks off as carers leave to look after me. It took me a little while to get comfortable at home, but I was really glad to be there.

The pain was easing each day, but I must admit that you have to expect ups and downs. You feel pretty good for a while, then some nausea might set in, or back ache from having to sleep on your back without moving. But generally I am getting better each day. 2 days ago I celebrated 1 week clear from the operation - 3rd hurdle over.

I am sitting here now waiting for the next 2 hurdles (by the way, these 5 hurdles were explained to me by my ob and I liked the clarity of the timeline, so that's why I'm using it). The next hurdle is 2 weeks from the operation, and the final hurdle is 4 weeks from the operation. She said that all of these time intervals indicate 'less posed risk'. Obviously the operation itself was a HUGE hurdle, as was the first 48 hours. The chance of going into preterm labor at this time is high. They kept asking me if i'd felt any contractions, which was hard to answer because I've never been pregnant before and I had all this weird pain from the operation (and I'd never had an operation before either!!!).

I am very pleased with how things have gone so far, but I am unable to be completely sure until I clear the final hurdle. I am not in the clear yet and am careful not to get ahead of myself. I just wanted to let you know how i'm going, thank you once again for your well wishes, and say to anyone out there that if you have to go through this yourself, I hope my story helps you.

I will post again with further updates at 2 and 4 weeks post op.

Sarah
xo

[KimB]

Glad everything went well for you Sarah. Fingers crossed that you hurdle over the next 2 and 4 week obstacles with ease.

[sarahk]

2 week hurdle over! Scan today showed that the baby is doing great. Only 2 more weeks to go, and then I can put all of this unpleasantness behind me!

[sarahk]

All clear! Best feeling in the world. Now that I'm on the other side of this, I can finally begin to enjoy my pregnancy and get excited about meeting my baby in 19 weeks time!

xo