Who can tell me about Dermoid Cysts?

[Miss H]

sorry, meant to create a new post

[EsJay]

i had a dermoid cyst on my right ovary, found during pregnancy through u/s. had had considerable abdominal pain for about 3 yrs which went undiagnosed after ongoing tests. the cyst was removed during emergency c/s and was sent for testing, it was benign and ob advised they rarely are cancerous, rarely affect ttc, but can cause pain, in some cases they dont cause pain, but usually do. she said it was nothing to be concerned about but if they are left for long periods of time they have a higher risk of becoming cancerous and are better off removed. it did stop the pain for about 6 months, then the pain returned at which point u/s was done to see if it had returned but it hadn't. pain has now gone again.

i hope everything goes well for your sil

[grub17]

they are called dermoid cysts or dermoid tumors and I had one removed from my right ovary in 2007. It was the size of a grapefruit but my excellent doctor managed to disentangle it and save my ovary.

it was found by my gp who had had one and given the size, was pretty easy to feel in my tummy.... apparently. it was during a routine smear test and explained a lot of belly pain I had had off and on in the years before hand.

it was key hole surgery like when you have your appendix out (so a small cut in my belly button, one on my side and a longer c-sect sort cut along the pubic line where they pull the sucker out after they've 'bagged it').

I was told 6 week recovery (like a c-sect) but for me it was more like 8 weeks. she'll go under a general anasethtic and be in hospital for a few days. She'll get a great pair of teddy compression tights for her legs to wear for the surgery and after.

they sent a biopsy of it away just to check it wasn't cancerous... it wasn't. like someone else said generally they aren't malignant but they still check them. I was given my operation within 2 weeks of finding it as there was a risk it could rupture and that would have been very very bad I was told and could have lead to some serious issues for me and having babies.

I had a difficult recovery but one of my friends has the same op and was out drinking a week later! go figure.

hth

ps it was not the reason we needed IVF to have kids.