Ovarian Cysts - Surgery to remove?
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Topic: Ovarian Cysts - Surgery to remove?
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Subject: Ovarian Cysts - Surgery to remove?
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 10:54pm
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Hi, had a scan confirm today that I have a cyst in my ovary that is over 8cm in diameter (so size of a tennis ball roughly), had to have an internal then & there to check out a few other things but the Dr on call wasn't happy and they are referring me to a gyno ASAP and said i will require surgery to remove.
Can someone explain to me what the process is, name of surgery ...how long will I be in hosp for etc And if the procedure is similar to that of a lap where they can check for endo & scarring on the fallopian tubes? Earliest appt I could get with my doc to discuss it is friday, so in the meantime I'm just trying to find out a bit more. Had a 6cm cyst throughout pregnancy that was never followed up, unsure if this is the same one but the sonographer & Dr were really cagey with me and wouldn't give away too much, said all my questions/concerns would need to be brought up with the gyno i see and that they didn't want to go into too much detail, something about needing to have a biopsy 
Thank God for medical insurance is all i can say. (scan i had today was one i'd totally forgotten about, it was booked through the public system last APRIL, only got a letter last week saying i had an appt, figured it was free and I've been pretty sick for quite some time now with constant cramping, bad periods and nausea etc etc ...funny how things work out eh). Any advice or some kind of idea whats involved would be greatly appreciated. TIA ETA: have been experiencing symptoms of endo for quite some time now, Doc is wanting to look into it a bit further - is there some kind of connection between PCOS/Ovarian Cysts and Endo? |
Replies:
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 10:58pm
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I haven't had this ,but my best mate did and had hers removed when her daughter (now 6) was 2, so I will ask her for you .
*hugs * Steph , sorry to hear your'e going through this ------------- 
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:03pm
Thanks Kelly, life is a bit of a biarch at the best of times but you just have to deal with it really. Certainly getting my moneys worth from Med insurance though, at this rate I'm going for at least 1 surgery a year 
Ohh and for anyone that knows a bit more about this, is it a genetic thing? My Dad's family (his mother and most of his sisters) thus far have had ovarian cysts too (along with cervical, ovarian and breast cancer - the works) ... |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:16pm
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I dont know about it being genetic, but I do know that in my friend's case she was the only one on either side to have one, if thats any use.
Yeah poor thing, first she gets the cyst and has to get it removed, then her sisters boyfriend gets killed infront of her , then she has a miscarriage, then she gets diagnosed with endometriosis,then our good friend dies suddenly of a blood clot-lifes a bitch at times alright ! BUT, at least her surgery to remove was successful . good you've got medical insurance, make sure you get your moneys worth ! -------------
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:19pm
| Yeah what's that saying about 'when it rains it pours'. Kinda feeling the same here with Nana & Pop's medical conditions (and amputations etc), Aunty having cervical cancer etc etc. Everything definitely seems to all crop up one thing after the other around here. |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:25pm
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"never rains but it pours " HA , more like ,"doesnt rain but monsoons "
Yeah , some people have it pretty sh*t, and some seem to just ...cruise along From what I remember she said the procedure was pretty straight forward , I think it was bigger than they expected once they were operating, but it was still able to be removed . However 2 weeks after she saw her little sisters 20 year old boyfriend get murdered in front of her , she didnt really have time to focus much on herself , funny that . But as I said , at least the surgery was successful , and shes had no problems with ovarian cysts since -------------
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:29pm
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Yeah I googled it a bit, lots of conflicting info online and some of what I read scared the sh*t outta me, i'd rather hear personal experiences iykwim (a lot of the sites were overseas too, so may do it differently).
Can you remember how long your friend was in hospital for? I won't be as phased if its just a day surgery (still have issues with leaving my little guy) |
Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:31pm
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Im pretty sure it was just day surgery , at the most it may have been over night , but I would be surprised if it had been cos I don't think her girl started staying at peoples houses til after that, Karz still had issues as well being away from her daughter , but i'll check for you -------------
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 28 January 2009 at 11:48pm
Awesome, thank you darling 
And hugs for your friend, sounds like she's had a really bad run of it in the last few years. and ps. LOVE the name you've chosen for your son! |
Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 12:03am
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OUCHY 8cm!!! You poor thing!! I had a 3.2cm cyst on my right ovary and I was in A LOT of pain!
I had a Laparoscopy to remove the cyst I had. It was suppoed to be day surgery but by the time my gynae finally got to me after doing his C-sections it was really late so I need to stay in over night. I was also in quite alot of pain afterwards and taking a while to come out of the General Anaesthetic so they wanted to monitor me over night. I was allowed to go home the next morning. That was also private, although in Aus not NZ. I imagine you will only need a Lap to remove it and it should just be day surgery unless there are complications or need to monitor you. I took a week to recover but some people come right in a few days. I hope you can get it removed ASAP. They are not nice and are terribly painful. ------------- Our Angel July 08  Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived 
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 1:03am
Wow 3.2cm, that makes mine sound rather large And yup the pain is pretty unbearable, I've been curled up in pain & sleeping HEAPS in the last few months, just progressively getting worse. Wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.
But in saying all that, part of me is glad the scan picked it up - otherwise we'd be back at square one wondering why I'm always in severe pain with that god-awful cramping in the lower regions. Laparoscopy - someone correct me if im wrong but isn't this the same procedure as the one they do to determine whether a woman has endo and what stage it is at? And what kind of incision did they make to remove your cyst Rianna? Was is keyhole, through the belly button or a slice across the pubic hairline? Any scarring/stitches? |
Posted By: LuluBelle85
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 8:06am
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Yep, a lap is the same procedure as diagnosis/removal as endo
Lots of us have had one, so any questions feel free to ask :) I don't know how the procedure differs for ovarian cysts, but I'm sure we can give you some advice :) |
Posted By: Konagirl
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 8:14am
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My cyst removal was exactly like lap surgery, 3 small incisions then using gas to expand abdomin as they preformed the surgary. i was told that recovery from this is fairly quick, a few days of taking it easy and was meant to be day surgary. But the doc's ended up finding endo which they removed bits of, then very blocked f-tubes which they also tried to unblock which meant when i woke up i was in agony and stayed in hospital overnight and had about 10 days of barely being able to walk. Like you am very happy to have medical insurance! although in still cost us $1200.
Scaring pretty little, you can see the one just under my belly botton when I wear my bikini but not the other two. Recovery has been great. I didn't realise how crap I felt for most of last year as it happend so slowly until it burst. Best of luck, PM if you have any more questions. ------------- Angel babies Mar '04, Oct '08 and Sep '09. |
Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 8:25am
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Hey Steph, firstly ouch! And sorry you're going through this.
Yep they can often do a lap and/or hysteroscopy to remove it, depending on how they want to go about it you can get incisions at your bikini line, in your belly button and to whatever side the cyst is on. The incisions are usually only 1cm and just have dissolvable stitches so no biggy at all. It should be day surgery, depends if you've reacted to anaesthetics before (I do so mine was overnight). Also, yes they will check for endo while they're there, they do the camera thing and will also take scrapings if need be. Sometimes cyst symptoms can be misdiagnosed as endo and vice versa, so a lap is really the only way to get it right. In most cases, the most uncomfortable part is the gas if you have to have it. They inflate you lol and the gas stays in your system for a while, but if that's the worst you get then that's alright. Just uncomfortable and you need to prop yourself up. You may also be required (I don't know if its standard procedure now) to have a D&C as a bit of a 'cleanout' - again, no biggy just a bit of bleeding, but good to have done if you've got issues down there. Can't really think of much else at the moment, but a lot of us have been through it so ask any questions you want 
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Posted By: caitlynsmygirl
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 11:05am
no worries, yeah shes a trouper. Im really a bit thick tho , I was about to ask you how you knew what name I had for baby , then I realised its on my ticker....duhhhhhh! -------------
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BuzzyBee wrote:Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 29 January 2009 at 10:56pm
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Steph I had a Lap, so keyhole surgery and yep they do the same to check for Endo and PCOS as Emz said. I was also check on both occasions for Endo and PCOS.
I had 3 incissions; one in my bellybutton, one above my pubic bone and the 3rd on my left hip. All very small about 1cm long each and only 2 stitches in each one I think. They were dissovable (sp?) so didnt need them removed (well the 2nd time I had the lap done anyways, the first lap were normal stitches). I do have scaring but its only noticable to me and DH cos we know they are there. HTH ------------- Our Angel July 08 Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived
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Posted By: Margs B
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 11:50am
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Hi Buzzybee
Looks like you have had all your questions answered. But endo, cysts and PCOS are all related so best of luck. I had endo from when I first started getting my periods at 11 and have had painfull heavy periods ever since. If you need anything else answered let me know.  ------------- DS March 09 IVF Angel Baby Jan 13 |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 12:45pm
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Thanks for all the replies ladies - i really appreciate it.
Saw my GP today and have been referred to a Gynae up in Remuera, earliest appt. we could get for me was Feb 9th. Dr said when they remove it they'll more than likely check for endo and anything else that may be concerning and they can treat it then and there - I hope he's right. If there IS something there of concern it would be nice to have it all sorted in one foul swoop iykwim. I had another question and now I've totally forgotten it will post when i remember ....
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 11:35pm
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Hoping someone here reads this and knows the answer -
I've just worked out that I'm coming up for AF a couple of days after my appt. with gynae (although lately it's been getting later and later ), no doubt it will effect when I can have the surgery - am I right in thinking this? Do they have to work it around your cycle?
If so, that means I'll have to wait till at least March to have the cyst removed 
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 11:46pm
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OMFG I'm so regretting searching laparoscopy/ovarian cyst removal on youtube and google videos, bloody gross man (I so can't stomach watching surgeries ...).
Not so sure I want it done now
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Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 30 January 2009 at 11:56pm
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Steph nope you dont need to worry about where in your cycle you are for the surgery. Just tell them if you have AF at the time so they know to give you ugly surfboard pads ------------- Our Angel July 08 Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 12:05am
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Umm at the risk of sounding really blonde, surfboard pads? You mean maternity ones? ....lol
But yay hopefully its all over and done with before my boys birthday in March! Sick of feeling like total and utter crap. |
Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 7:13pm
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oh sorry lol - Yeah Maternity or just huge sized pads which are terribly uncomfortable ------------- Our Angel July 08 Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 8:23pm
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Steph if you are due for AF then they may also take it all out for you (as in suction it out if they are doing endo stuff too) - that would be nice!!!. But on the cyst part I have some that are about 4cm big and I am not allowed them removed because of where they are and the fact I may lose the ovary (what my gyne told me). ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 10:13pm
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Well I hope I don't have to keep my cyst (even if it may mean i lose an ovary) I can't continue with this pain, it can be really debilitating some days and it's getting to the point I can't keep up with Lucas coz I'm feeling 24/7. Oh man I hope it gets removed
Ohh and I was reading the brochure for the place I'm going to, and they deal with abnormal smears and colposcopies etc, I had been going through the public system for all that for the last 3 years (HUGE waiting lists) ...to hell with that, I'm going to stick with the gynae now for everything woman related! Does anyone know if they give me a date for a few days after the appt (that'd be nice!) can you set it all up and get the pre-approval number etc over the phone? Snail mail takes wayyyyyy too long! |
Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 10:24pm
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Oh Steph I hope you can have it removed to, preferably without loosing an ovary!! I had to wait about a month for my surgery after my gynae appt.
As for the insurance side of things, Im not too sure how it works now in NZ as its all done electronically here. Kinda like EFTPOS in a way and I just pay the excess at the same time, then get a bill for the rest, if any. I do remember having my wisdom teeth being taken out in NZ under insurance. I just rang them to check it was all covered then sent them the bill I think. Give your Insurance company a call, hopefully you can do it all over the phone. ------------- Our Angel July 08 Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived
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Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 10:36pm
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I only know for southern cross. But you get a prior approval number and give itto the hospital. They usually give you a month grace to get the bill paid. So if you have an excess the company will pay for everything and then you pay the left over (which is the excess). When I had my last op we had an excess and we just went into the hospital and paid the remaining amount (was about $600 on that plan). ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 10:53pm
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Becks do you know where your cysts are exactly?
I recall Dr saying something about them being in the 'left adnexa' ...apparently it is in the same region as the concerning one I had throughout my pregnancy with Lucas(they suspect it's just continued to grow and has been causing most of the symptoms/pain I've been experiencing). Isn't it quite serious and life threatening if they burst (when they are largish and don't seem to be disolving on their own?). |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 11:16pm
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Last time they looked my left was covered in them with the odd big one and my right was just starting to get covered in them. TBH I can't wait till I turn 30 so I can get rid of them. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 11:30pm
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If it becomes worst case scenario and I do end up having to get my ovary removed, you can still carry on to have children with just one ovary right? I assume it just makes it a little harder to fall pregnant?
When they give you the results of a lap, do they let you know what state your fallopian tubes, and all your bits are in? (ie scarring in fallopian tubes, possible causes of infertility etc?). I had Chlam left undiagnosed and untreated for well over a year (whilst I was pregnant with Lucas, didn't find out until they traced Lucas' conjunctivitis as a newborn back to him catching sti in birth canal, had to be from his father as I'd had a clear smear/check just before we met!), would be nice if they could tell me what the damage is down there iykwim. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 01 February 2009 at 10:59am
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I know you can as Ann has had one removed and has 3 children now. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: mummyofprinces
Date Posted: 01 February 2009 at 11:08am
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Steph my specialist in Aus had a patient who only had her left ovary and right F tube. The couple stopped using protection thinking they couldnt get pregnant and what do you know....... Might just slow things down, but you certainly can still conceive.
Good luck hun, hoping it all goes very smoothly for you and you will be pain free soon! -------------   
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 09 February 2009 at 7:13pm
Yay surgery is all booked for next Monday, just waiting on the pre-approval number. Surgeon sent me for tumor check due to there being small nodular component in the cyst (so not all liquid) ...so depending on what the result comes back as, at this stage its laparoscopic keyhole surgery to remove cyst, and check for endo and fertility while she's there, but if test results aren't good then open surgery and may take the whole ovary. Will be staying in for 2 nights, my poor parents ....not sure how they will cope with Lucas - they've never had to look after him for longer than 12 hours (when i had my tonsils out  ) Be a good start for our weaning though hmm
I tell you though, I really don't care at this point - I just want a pain free life, I want to be able to enjoy Lucas and LIVE! Thank you ladies for all your advice and replies, i really do appreciate it - it's made the whole process of understanding that bit easier for me. |
Posted By: WestiesGirl
Date Posted: 09 February 2009 at 11:33pm
Steph thats great. Let us know how you get on. I hope its just a simple removal of the cyst  ------------- Our Angel July 08 Gone but not forgotten
And to complete our family, our princess has arrived
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Posted By: kiwisj
Date Posted: 09 February 2009 at 11:41pm
Great that you have a date! Good luck for the lap and a speedy recovery - make the most of those two nights' rest 
Your parents will be fine .. they might even enjoy it! ------------- SJ Callum - Dec 2008 Daniel - Oct 2010 |