What is an ovarian cyst? An ovari...

What is an ovarian cyst?

An ovarian pouch (say: sist) is a fluid-filled sac in the ovary. Many sacs are completely normal. These are called functional pouchs They occur as a deduction of ovulation (the release of an ovum from the ovary). Functional pouchs normally shrink over time, usually in about the same to three months. If you have a functional pouch your doctor may want to check you again in the same to three months to make trustworthy the cyst has gotten smaller. Or your doctor may want you to take birth sway pills so you will not ovulate. If you do not ovulate, you will not form cysts

If you are menopausal and are not having periods, you should not form functional pouchs If you do have a pouch your doctor will probably want you to have a sonogram thus he or she can expect at the cyst. What your doctor decides to do after that hangs on your age, the way the sac looks on the sonogram, and if you are having symptoms in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as pain, bloating, feeling satiated after eating just a little, or constipation.

What is a sonogram?

A sonogram uses healthy waves to make pictures of organs in the corpse It is a good way to contemplate at the ovaries. This kind of sonogram can be done [i]or[/i] part of to the other your abdomen or your vagina. Neither original is painful. The sonogram usually lasts about 30 minutes. It will give your doctor serviceable information about the size and appearance of your cyst

Are there any other touchstones I might have?

Your doctor might ordeal the level of a protein called CA-125 in your family This is a blood example that is often done in women with ovarian cancer. Sometimes this touchstone is done in women with an ovarian sac to see if their pouch could be cancerous. A normal CA-125 horizontal is less than 35. However, this experiment is not always an accurate way to disclose if a woman has cancer. For example, a certain quantity of women with ovarian cancer have a normal CA-125 on a level Also, this level sometimes can be high in women who do not have cancer, particularly if they are in their childbearing years. For these reasons, the CA-125 line test is usually only done in women who are at high risk for ovarian cancer.

Do I ne surgery for an ovarian cyst?

The answer hangs on several things, such as your age, whether you are having periods, the size of the pouch its appearance, and your symptoms.

If you are having periods and the pouch is functional, you probably will not ne to have surgery If the pouch does not go away after several menstrual periods, if it obtains larger, or if it does not gaze like a functional cyst upon the sonogram, your doctor may want you to have an operation to put an end to it. There are many different impressed signs of ovarian cysts in women of childbearing age that require surgery Fortunately, sacs in women of this age are almost always benign (not cancer).

If you are past menopause and have an ovarian pouch your doctor will probably want you to have surgery Ovarian cancer is rare, unless women 50 to 70 years of age are at greater risk. Women who are diagnosed at an early stage do earnestly better than women who are diagnosed later.

What stamp of surgery would I need?

The token of surgery you need hangs on several things, such as the size of the pouch how the cyst looks forward the sonogram, and if your doctor thinks it might be cancer. If the pouch is small (about the size of a plum) and if it direct the eyes benign on the sonogram, your doctor may decide to do a laparoscopy. This image of surgery is done with a lighted instrument called a laparoscope that is like a fine telescope. This is put into your abdomen by means of a small incision (cut) just above or just below your navel. With the laparoscope, your doctor can view your organs. Often the sac can be removed with simply small incisions in the pubic hair line. If the pouch looks too big to dislodge with the laparoscope or if it awaits suspicious in any way, your doctor will probably do a laparotomy.

A laparotomy uses a bigger incision to abate the cyst or possibly the entire ovary. The pouch can be tested while you are in subordination to general anesthesia (this puts you into a sleep-like state) to find public if it is cancer. If it is cancer, your doctor may ne to banish both of the ovaries, the uterus, a gather of fatty tissue called the caul and some lymph nodes. It is important that you talk to your doctor about all of this before the surgery Your doctor also will talk to you about the risks of each kind of surgery to what degree long you are likely to be in the hospital, and for what reason long it will be before you can travel back to your normal activities.

COPYRIGHT 2003 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group