cyst within an ovary

I have the same problem. 5cm dermoid within ovary. I haven't had it removed yet.

It is possible, but it depends on how much good tissue is left on the ovary. I had a 12cm dermoid cyst and the ovary had to be removed along with it because of torsion (twisting) and the fact that the cyst had basically engulfed the ovary.

So it really just depends...your surgeon may not know if the ovary needs to be removed until he/she is performing your surgery. If you have an MRI beforehand, however, that may help with an answer (my MRI showed that there was only the tiniest bit of healthy tissue left on the ovary, so I knew going into surgery that it'd have to be removed). Hope this helps!

A little backgroun of myself. I am 21 years old with a 9 cm mass located inside my left ovary and I am going to have surgery on the 9th. I had the same question and my Doctor said that they can't guarentee saving the ovary 100% depending on the obstacles they face during the procedure but if they don't have any complications they can save your ovary and it'll be fine. Now if they decided that they have to remove one of your ovaries, You will still be able to function with the other ovary intact and proceed to reproduce eggs and have kids in the future. The con would be that you will have to go into early menopause about 1-5 years earlier than usual. 

Hi,

It's possible to just remove the cyst and leave the ovary functioning as normal. I had a 4 cm endometriotic cyst on my left ovary removed via laproscopy 2 weeks back. During the lap, The cyst was drained first and then the tissue removed. I actually asked to see the tissue before it was sent for biopsy!

I do understand though that 100% of the tissue can't be removed ( the only way to get completely rid of it is to remove the ovary). So there is a chance that cysts may recur - even otherwise with hormonal changes- so I have been put on birth control pills since day 1 of the first period following the surgery.

Good luck with your surgery.