An ovarian cyst is a growth or swelling on or inside the ovary. It may be solid or filled with fluid. Many women may experience no symptoms when they have an ovarian cyst, in particularly if it is small. Certain cysts may grow large and causes the abdomen to swell. Depending on where the cyst is and its size, it may cause weight gain, abnormal bleeding and painful menstrual periods, pain or pressure in the abdomen or during sex, breast tenderness or vomiting. Other symptoms may include sudden severe abdominal pain, faintness, dizziness or rapid breathing. So, when is an ovarian cyst surgery necessary?

If your cyst is discovered during pregnancy and is causing you many symptoms and too much discomfort, or is large in size, it may need to be removed. Cares must be taken to protect the baby and other reproductive organs during the operation. You may be offered a laparoscopy at first to get a better view of the cyst. A laparoscopy allows the surgeon to look at the outside of the womb and at ovaries and fallopian tubes. It normally involves making two small cuts, one in the lower abdomen and the other near the navel. Air is then passed into the pelvic cavity to lift the abdominal wall away from the internal organs, and a small viewing instrument, called the laparoscope, is inserted through one of the insertion. An instrument used to manipulate the pelvic organs is inserted through the other small cut. This operation usually takes about 30 minutes and is normally done in the hospital. Depending on what is found, a technique called laparoscopy fenestration may follow. Using the same small cuts as an ordinary laparoscopy, the cyst is removed by draining its content. It will take about a week for the wound to heal.

If there are concerns that the cyst may burst and spill its content during removal, you may be advised to have a laparotomy done instead. This is a more complicated ovarian cyst surgery which involves making a much larger cut across the top of the pubic hairline. This surgery gives the surgeon better access to the cyst and the whole cyst can easily be removed then.

Whether the surgeon removes anything else depends largely on your age, whether he or she believes in keeping women’s organs intact and on what you have consented to before the operation. If you are under forty and may want to have children, it is recommended that you leave the ovary intact. If you are over forty, the risk of cancer increases and as a preventive measure, your surgeon may recommend removing one ovary (”oophorectomy” surgery) or both (”bilateral oophorectomy” surgery) along with the fallopian tubes (”salpingectomy” surgery) and your womb (”hysterectomy” surgery). It is important to remember that removing both ovaries will cause premature menopause, even if you have not reach menopause. Even after menopause, the ovaries continue to produce small amounts of hormones that influence your sexual health. A hysterectomy is a major surgery and it involves a long recovery period afterwards. Hence, it is not surprising that most women are reluctant to undergo such an operation especially to prevent something which may never happen.

Before discussing ovarian cyst surgery with your doctor, it is worth seeking a second and even third medical opinion on the matter. It is advisable to explore other alternative treatments especially the non-surgical ones. If you’re finished for good with all the pain and discomfort of ovarian cysts and you want to avoid surgery, then this is the honest and effective ovarian cyst solution that you have been searching for!

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