yes i am absolutely positive she is an obgyn. Giving her the benefit of the doubt about the menstrual cup, is maybe she had never seen that type??? Trust me I will be asking her next week at my follow up. and I will probably be demanding she performs another ultra sound-with her in the room this time (I will be going to the second opinion the following week anyways to make sure whatever she says is true.) I still don't understand as I have seen the images- very clearly a simple cyst, but there does appear to be a large mass to the side of that. I also have RESEARCHED this to the death and looked at many other US of dermoids and it does look like that is what it is. My thing is, where did it go?
I agree on being happy two still have two ovaries, and didn't have anything unnecessarily removed. I really expressed my desire to keep both ovaries, although she wasn't sure she could, she asked for another obgyn to be in with her (she told me that this doctor had a slightly different technique to separating the ovary from the cyst and has more success than herself- which I appreciated her honesty about her ability to do that.)
as to the money- luckily I have good insurance and I only had to pay about 300 for the procedure (day of surgery). I would think it would be incredibly difficult to get that reimbursed, especially since it was completed by an outside dr. at their facility.
If the next doctor looks at my images and says that she shouldn't have operated or should have known better, I will probably proceed with malpractice claim. Maybe that doctor will tell me she made an honest mistake that could have happened to any treating ob. I would actually feel better about that. I like this dr on a personal level. still unsure to why she left without speaking to me first though-I don't feel like this was planned- I had asked her to take pictures of the cyst because I am a weirdo and wanted to see it, and she had discussed showing them to me after surgery . ... my thought is that she left because she thought I was going to be annoyed or mad, ask a lot of questions that she felt she may need more time to prepare for.
Thank you so much for your thorough and thoughtful response. I have my ultra sound images and documents and I do have a second opinion scheduled and requested for my records to be sent over today.
I am having lower left pain again- not terrible but I do feel like something is still there.
I am looking forward to having more definitive answers.
also, good for that woman who begged for another US. I wish I had done the same thing myself. looking back now, I really think that when I went in that day and was in excruciating pain, that the follicular cyst was rupturing. on my ultra sound I had some small free fluid next to that ovary. She didn't mention that- and I only saw it on my ultrasound after the fact. I asked her at my pre op if that could have been what the free fluid was from- she said that was unlikely and that most people have different amount of free fluid depending where they are in their cycle.
another thing to mention is that I went to the office a month prior to this experience for pelvic pain, spotting after sex (never have I bled in between cycles). I didn't get to see my doctor on this day but saw a midwife who performed a pelvic exam and found nothing. I also track my pain and period in an app, and I can create common tags. I was having lower left quad pain on and off, so much so, that I made a tag for it. I looked back when it started and it was back in april.
I have my images from my us and it reads
"dermoid" mass is L-7.32cm H-4.26 cm, W-6.23 cm
as to the Follicular cyst:
left OV cyst L- 4.81, H-4.21, W- 4.8, VOL-
left ovary: l 6.10cm, H-4.45, W-5.98, VOL-84.90 cm3
thank you again!
This all sounds very odd...the fact that the cyst was gone and she was confused about the menstrual cup (are you sure she's an ob/gyn?!).
My best guess is that the cyst was not a dermoid and it went away on its own. Most cysts do go away on their own in 2 to 3 cycles but dermoids do not. Complex ones tend not to go away but they can. As you mentioned, simple / follicular cysts (if they hang around longer than normal) almost always resolve on their own. Cysts that aren't too large (under 7cm or so...yours was under 5cm) that may go away on their own are best monitored versus jumping to surgery since surgery has risks. Of course, if the cyst is the type that will not go away or it looks suspicious, then surgery would be required.
The type of cyst is not always clear on imaging whether it be u/s, CT, or MRI). I thought CT gave a better visual but then read that u/s is usually better for viewing ovarian cysts. I don't know about MRI's for viewing cysts. Keep in mind that you do not want CT scans unnecessarily since they emit a bit of radiation.
Your surgery took place shortly after the cysts were discovered so it would not seem that another ultrasound would have been needed. However, maybe some cysts shrink quickly. There was a woman who posted awhile back on this forum who was all ready to go into surgery and insisted on another u/s. Her doctor did not want to do one but she said she would not go into surgery without another u/s. And lo and behold, her cyst was gone.
Since the cyst was gone, you may have been saved your ovary. Far too many women lose an ovary or ovaries when all that needs to be removed is a cyst(s). Our ovaries are essential our whole lives for the hormones they continue to produce long after menopause. Removal of even one ovary can impair fertility and even cause the other ovary to completely shut down (although I suspect this is fairly unusual). This explains ovarian cysts - http://ovaryresearch.com/ovarian_cysts.htm.
As far as the endometriosis, most doctors are not skilled at removing endo lesions. You would want to have an endometriosis excision specialist do that if you are having symptoms that warrant removal.
Regarding removal of your IUD at the same time - I do not understand why that could not have been done. Maybe she just wanted to be able to charge for another procedure? It certainly sounds like it is time for a new doctor.
You can request a copy of your medical records from the doctor and hospital. This should include the ultrasound report. Filing a complaint with the hospital and your state's medical board may be worth looking into. Sometimes, bills are written off / forgiven if one receives poor medical care and "pushes the envelope."