Ovarian Cysts - When should you remove them?
Ovarian cysts are very common. Many women get them. One of the biggest questions is, “well, do I take it out? How do I know if I should take it out?”
So let me go over the top three things that I use as a guide to help my patients figure this out.
Is it bothering you?
This is an interesting question, because for some patients, a cyst that is 4 CM can be really painful. And for other patients, they've got a 10-15 centimeter cyst, and they didn't even know they had one. I know it's hard to believe, but it's been there for a long time. It's been slowly growing, and they don't ever realize that they have it. So number one, is it really bothering you?
What is the size of the cyst?
This is something to pay attention to, because there's a particular size at which time the cysts are more likely to twist or torso. Now, I made a whole separate video on ovarian torsion and how that can be extremely painful. And you can actually lose blood supply to the ovary and potentially even need to take the ovary out. So between about four to 6 CM is when that ovarian twists on itself and loses blood supply to the ovary. Really small cysts typically don't twist.And really large cysts don't twist because they are very heavy and they don't really have that momentum to be twisting. So the size of the cyst and the risk of torsion is something to consider.
Could it actually be cancerous?
I know when people have ovarian cysts, that's one of the top things in their mind, “oh my goodness, can this be ovarian cancer?” So there's a lot of information that goes into determining this. Your age, your family history, what does a cyst look like on ultrasound, on MRI? Maybe your doctor will do some bloodwork, put all this information together, and then decide, “okay, you know what? You probably should get this out versus it looks okay, we can monitor it.”
So these are the top three things to consider when thinking about whether you should have your ovarian cyst removed.
So number one, is it bothering you?
Number two, what is the size, and is it likely to torso or twist on itself, causing ovarian torsion?
And number three, could this be cancerous?
So think about these things. If you have an ovarian cyst, talk to your gynecologist.
If you are in the bay area and you're looking for an awesome gynecologist to help you decide whether your ovarian cyst is something you need to remove or not. Or if, you know, you want to remove your ovarian cyst and you're looking for an excellent GYN surgeon, please come and see me in my office. I'm in Lafayette, CA. I'm putting down my information below and I'll see you later.
If you are in California and you are looking for an expert gynecologist, come and see me!
I'm in Lafayette, CA and my number is 925-74-7473 , and I'll be happy to see you for a consultation.
You can set up a coaching session with me, email: thefibroiddoc@gmail.com , and we can set up a time and go over all your questions.
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