My Ovarian Cyst is growing during pregnancy and now has debris - what could it mean?

[jbackoff]

Hi everyone,

My doctors found a cyst near my right ovary in April of 2016 that they said was likely a paraovarian cyst. It measured 6.4cm x 3.9cm.

In January 2017 it had increased in size to 7.6cm x 5.4cm.

In May 2018 it measured 7.2cm x 4.9cm.

In August 2018 it is measuring 8.5cm x 4.9cm and now has a small amount of debris in the center and along the edge.

I was pregnant last fall which resulted in a missed miscarriage at 14 weeks.

I am pregnant again now and am currently 20 weeks.

My doctor says she's not worried about the cyst yet, but wants to monitor it. She doesn't want me to worry, but that is easier said than done! What reasons could there be for the changes in size and the new addition of debris? What could the debris actually be?

Any insight is really appreciated, thank you!

[old_before_my_time]

I'm sorry you went through a miscarriage and are dealing with this.

The large majority of cysts are benign. And debris is not necessarily concerning. Did your doctor say at what point / cyst size surgery would be needed? If the cyst gets too large, it can cause ovarian torsion which could cause the ovary to die.

If you do end up needing surgery, it's best to keep all your parts (ovary and tube and everything else) and just have the cyst removed (cystectomy). Unfortunately, many women lose an ovary or ovaries for benign ovarian cysts. Both ovaries are critical not only to normal fertility but to overall good health and well-being. They produce hormones our whole lives. Removal of even one ovary has been shown to do more harm than good and can also impair fertility. Here are a couple of helpful sites -
http://ovaryresearch.com/ovarian_cysts.htm
http://www.overy.org/

I hope this helps. Please keep us posted.  

[Brittany_beloved]

I also had a missed miscarriage at 13 weeks. Once I got pregnant again 6 months later, I had to have my right ovary removed while 9 weeks pregnant.

I was in the worst pain I had ever been in in my life and was back and fourth to the e.r. That was caused from a 5cm cyst torsion(twisted).

If you're not in any pain, there's really no immanent danger. When it grows too big, it can twist your fallopian tube and cut off circulation which could cause it to swell and pose a serious problem. Pain, severe**Pain is a lovely (not:/) reminder that something is very very wrong.

At this point, maybe your uterus at this stage is keeping it in place and preventing torsion since there isn't much shifting space.

But be reassured, pregnancy is your best weapon because the hormones should keep it from growing bigger. Just like many women get on birth control to shrink and prevent cysts.

Surgery is scary when there are two lives on the line and recovery is awful awful. I had to get a morphine drip and a few weeks of vocodin I was in body splitting pain. So be satisfied where all this it is avoidable. Your Dr. is exercising her judgement according to her knowledge without stressing you out, but it is nice to be armed with the right questions for piece of mind.


Ps-By the grace of God my daughter is now 3 months and very healthy. Quickest delivery of my life! In 2hours went from 3cm-10cm dialated and pushed 13mins. My body was like we are done right freaking NOW. On my due date none the less too...

[old_before_my_time]

Thanks for sharing your story Brittany. I'm sorry you went through all that but glad it ended well with a beautiful baby girl! Congrats!