Dermoid Cyst on Ovary

Got a call from my doctor last night. I recently had a pelvic u/s to check the stability of a fibroid that I have which has actually gotten smaller :banana:. Well, apparently they detected what they are calling a dermoid cyst on my ovary. I've done a little googling, which of course, makes your mind go crazy with all the possibilities. I have to go back for a second u/s (basically about 5-7 days after my next period) to check on it. Has anyone had this? Any information about it?

 

:hug:

My friend had a dermoid cyst. I don't remember exactly where hers was located, but it was softball-sized, and had teeth and hair embedded in it. She had some other issues as well(can't remember what), but ended up having a hysterectomy. I know that is probably not what you want to hear, and hopefully your case is different, and you won't have the same outcome. :hug:

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ Jan 5 2009, 11:01 AM) [snapback]1133603[/snapback]
:hug:

My friend had a dermoid cyst. I don't remember exactly where hers was located, but it was softball-sized, and had teeth and hair embedded in it. She had some other issues as well(can't remember what), but ended up having a hysterectomy. I know that is probably not what you want to hear, and hopefully your case is different, and you won't have the same outcome. :hug:



Thanks, I did read some info about that teeth and hair thing,yuck. The thing that worried me was that they say they are typically not cancerous, but can be in women over 40.

 

Hey Mo,
Yup. BTDT.

I had a Dermoid cyct on my ovary and didn't know it. 1 day I woke up in extreme pain, (worse than labor!) I went to the hospital and I had a large (not sure exact size) dermoid cyct on my left ovary. It had strangled my ovary and ruptured my left tube and I was bleeding internally. I had emergency surgery right then. That's why I only have 1 ovary and tube.

Supposedly a Dermoid Cycst can be your twin that didn't develop in utero and isn't fully absorbed and so it has been in you since you were in utero. A little strange and creepy to me. PM me if you want.

 

I had a small dermoid cyst as well (yuck to the teeth & hair!!). It ruptured, which was VERY painful (while I was at work...) I think that might have been the most pain I have ever felt.
They were able to see it during regular ultrasounds I was having for my Endometriosis. At my next appt after the painful rupture they couldn't find it anymore.

 

I didn't realize they were so "common". I really felt freakish when it happened to me since no one I knew had ever heard of it before.

 

Maureen, I had a dermoid cyst removed from one of my ovaries at age 17. It was the size of a grapefruit. It was only detected by my first gyn appt. Mine also had teeth and hair embedded in it. I didn't have any problems, but it did cause scarring which they believe (along with my emergency appendectomy) is what lead to both my tubes being blocked.

 

I had one when I was around 20--they found it by accident--trying to determine a cause for what I now know is PCOS. Anyway, they did remove it, they said there was no hurry to do it, but it was a good time to do it. Summer between my junior and senior years of college--I watched the invasion of Tianamen Square from my hospital bed.

 

6 people who are/have been TS mods have all had one. what are the odds? weird.

 

It was 1999, I was 24, engaged to my now-DH, and had just started taking birth-control pills (a few weeks earlier) when my first dermoids were removed. One day, I had bad ovulation-type pains, and, through that night, the pain got most intense. I soaked in a hot bath, and massaged my abdomen most of the night. By morning I was doubled over, and went to the ER. They found two large dermoids (one on each ovary), one the size of a grapefruit, and one the size of a baseball. They had been twisting my fallopian tubes, and that's what was causing the pain. I had emergency surgery that day, and was able to save most of one ovary, and half of the other. Recovery was rough, rougher than my c-section (or maybe I just couldn't dwell on recovery with the c-section, because I had 3 kids to focus on!). My dermoids were non-cancerous, and contained fat, hair, teeth, cartilege, brain matter, etc. Gross, huh?

A couple of years later, DH and I started trying to make a baby, with no success. My tubes were not blocked, but they MAY have been scarred from the twisting that the dermoids caused. My egg production is also poor. I produce few eggs, and the quality was not very good (and we started fertility treatments when I was in my mid-twenties). Was this a result of the dermoids? Maybe... but probably not. My doctors believe that I just have defective ovaries! But, despite my problems, I was able to get pregnant from IVF 2 times - a singleton in 2004, and twins in 2008. When preparing for my first IVF, my doc found another small dermoid starting to grow. It was very tiny at that time - like 8mm - but my doctors continued to monitor it. When I went for my second IVF, it had grown to about 24mm (one inch). My doc siad that it wasn't worth having surgery to remove it before getting pregnant, but we would continue to monitor it. When I had my c-section for the twins, my OB asked, "hey, do you want me to remove this dermoid, too, while I'm in here?" So, that's gone, now, too.

I have known several woman who have had repeat dermoids, years later. I will continue to request ultrasounds for monitoring periodically.

I have a cousin (a tiny, skinny thing), who had a football-sized dermoid removed when she was in her mid-teens. She lost her ovary.

QUOTE(twoplustwo @ Jan 5 2009, 11:40 AM) [snapback]1133665[/snapback]
Supposedly a Dermoid Cycst can be your twin that didn't develop in utero and isn't fully absorbed and so it has been in you since you were in utero. A little strange and creepy to me. PM me if you want.


I've read this theory, too, but I don't believe that it is true. After all, I've had three dermoids removed, so that would mean that I was a quadruplet! :blink:

 

I had an ovarian torsion when I was pregnant with Elizabeth. It wasn't a dermoid cyst, but a large fluid filled cyst that they did biopsy just in case. But definitely be aware of the possibility of torsion. I was fine one day and the next day woke up with a twinge on my right side that over the course of a few hours turned into the worst pain I've ever experienced! I went straight to the OB and they had me in surgery within an hour and were able to save my ovary and tube. Mine recurred and had to be removed again (canteloupe sized) when I had my c-section. It's good to know that you have it in case you start having pain so that they can treat you quickly and not waste time looking for other problems like appendicitis, gall bladder issues, etc. I hope your doctor will have good news for you!

 

Maureen, do they think that this could be what was/is(?) causing your stomach pain?

 

when i was 22, a year after my son was born, my obgyn went on vacation. i had really bad cramping in my left side and it especially hurt during sex, so i made an appt with the dr covering her rounds that week. it was a young guy, a little older than me at that time, who found a dermoid cyst the size of a grapefruit. it also had teeth and hair. i had laparoscopic surgery to have it removed. i was quite surprised my obgyn didn't catch it earlier, but it didnt have any negative affects on my ovaries, so im grateful for that.

 

Well, I have had a second u/s done and the cyst has not changed in size. The doctor wants to leave it as is for now and we will just watch it. He doesn't think that this or the fibroids have anything to do with my stomach pain (the stomach pain is under my ribs).

 

QUOTE(moski @ Jan 30 2009, 05:29 AM) [snapback]1168800[/snapback]
Well, I have had a second u/s done and the cyst has not changed in size. The doctor wants to leave it as is for now and we will just watch it. He doesn't think that this or the fibroids have anything to do with my stomach pain (the stomach pain is under my ribs).

weird Mo. Then what is the pain??
I hope they figure it put soon.
how often are they going to check on the cyst?

 

Maureen that is good news. I'm sorry it doesn't explain your stomach pain though.

 

My nephew has a demoid tumor in his chest. He just finished his cheomtherapy for that. I hope that its not the same type of cell that his is.

Erin

 

QUOTE(moski @ Jan 30 2009, 01:29 PM) [snapback]1168800[/snapback]
Well, I have had a second u/s done and the cyst has not changed in size. The doctor wants to leave it as is for now and we will just watch it. He doesn't think that this or the fibroids have anything to do with my stomach pain (the stomach pain is under my ribs).



Take some motrin for the rib pain. The cartilege might be inflamed. it will help with the pain.

 

QUOTE(twoplustwo @ Jan 30 2009, 05:15 PM) [snapback]1169720[/snapback]
weird Mo. Then what is the pain??
I hope they figure it put soon.
how often are they going to check on the cyst?


They can't figure out what the pain is, they have done u/s, CAT scan, hyda scan, etc. No clue.

I guess he will probably schedule me for another u/s after my annual exam to check on everything, not sure though. He didn't really say much about how often they will check it.

Erin, the pain in my rib/abdomen has been going on since I was pregnant with Liam, not sure what it is.