Ovarian Dermoid Cyst - Very Painful!!

Hi everyone!

I had my surgery on October 16th, this past Wednesday. They thought they "might" be able to do it laproscopy but because my cyst was so big (11cm x 13cm) they did a "mini c section" instead. I was in the hospital one night and came home yesterday. Very sore and painful but as soon as I woke up from surgery I felt so much RELIEF that this mass was out of me! I did have dissension (it popped out of my stomach) and haven't been able to lay on my back for months. I am feeling much MUCH better now though. I don't think anyone in this forum had their dermoid as big as mine was but I have been to other forums where some of the ladies had theirs bigger than 20cm! Apparently these guys get really big Anyways, they ended up not having to take anything else, which I was glad for because I was certain they might have to grab an ovary or something. They checked my tubes, ovaries and uterus and everything looked good. Oh, inside the cyst there was approximately ONE LITER of fluid!!!! No wonder my back killed me!! It was like I was pregnant.... SO glad it is out girls. Really, so glad.

I just had a quick question:

2 radiologists and an oncologist looked at ultrasound and CT scan and thought "dermoid" but my doctor, who is very young and still doing her residency, seems mildly concerned about the calcification on the dermoid (the white parts) and wants to confirm everything is normal with me AFTER we get the pathology report back. But the senior doctor did my surgery and she stood there because she is in training and I am thinking if he thought anything looked suspicious he would have grabbed the ovary too, as I had consented to them taking what they needed IF they thought it was cancer.

Anyways, she has me just a little freaked out now I googled calcification on dermoids and it seems VERY common that at least 50% of dermoids are calcified actually and I am wondering if she perhaps isn't aware of this? Did anyone else have a similar issue?

Many thanks

xoxo

Hi Elizabeth, so pleased that your surgery is over and appears to be successful! Wow, what a whopper! Mine was apparently lemon-sized but I am guessing you have crossed into the realms of grapefruits there! So pleased you are feeling better, hope the post-surgery pain was manageable. I saw the consultant after two weeks and the histology report showed that my dermoid was completely benign and there was no evidence of cancer in either of my ovaries. The ultrasound reports from when they discovered the tumour were not really shared with me to any great degree so I can't really comment on yours but I do know that dermoids are rarely malignant. Hopefully you will have the reports on yours very soon and then you can relax and get on with enjoying the rest of your life! Take care, look after yourself and don't underestimate the trauma your body has been through xxx

Hi there and thank you so much for your response

Yes, it was quite a whopper lol they said it was slightly bigger than a grapefruit! But lemon size is big too and from what I understand size doesn't always or often attribute to more or less pain with people. I have heard stories where the cyst was smaller than a lemon and caused more pain than mine ever did so I guess anything in our bodies that doesn't belong there will cause discomfort. I just had TONS of pressure from this whopper. They didn't see any signs of cancer either in any other parts so I guess that's good. Yes I guess the final chapter on this nightmare is getting those reports and then moving on Can't wait girlfriend! So far so good on the pain and thank goodness for pain meds Yes I am taking it easy- I think they 6 weeks total heal time. Take care if yourself too and thank goodness for modern medicine and surgeons! xxoo

Don't you just love the fruit analogies! I had planned to take three weeks off work but have been signed off for five in total as I developed a kidney infection. My most recent test came back clear so the antibiotics have clearly worked their magic. I still have tenderness around my larger incision but the smaller ones have healed beautifully and can barely be seen. I work in our local primary school and it is half term the week after next so I have two more weeks before I am back at work full time. Make sure you take enough time to heal properly; although there isn't a great deal to be seen on the outside you have had a lot of trauma to your 'insides' which really does take time to recover from. Lots of good books and daytime naps and you will soon be feeling as good as new xx

Good news on your successful surgery Elizabeth. My cyst was bigger than expected too so I had a slightly larger cut but the consultant seemed pleased that although bigger, was still classed as keyhole

Definitely take it easy. I felt fine first few days (had my op on Monday) but now I have to rest at some point during the day to have enough energy for school run, playing, cooking dinner etc. grandma has the children over night now so I will have a restful weekend. Starting to think I should of had this done whilst at work then I would of had real time off with no kids

Didn't ever seem any concern of my cyst I think because all my blood tests were fine. I had to have my ovary & tube out as although not cancerous it was damaged by cyst so if there was any doubt I'm sure they would have whipped anything of concern out.

Rest rest rest.

Seems I am the last to have the op in this forum, i will be glad when i am posting, all done!!

Gosh Elizabeth that was a large cyst, I didnt realise that dermoid cyst could be filled with such a lot of fluid! As you said it will be nice to get the all clear but like Shaunagh I have read the same, unlikely to be anything sinister.

Sonar thank goodness you are having a break from the children! School run!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what were you thinking so soon, you are right tho being positive and fit must help. I am fit and usually positive but still bit scared.

Shaunagh I will now add drinking lots of water to my list to prevent urine infection, bit prone. Dont tell me you did this already glad you are recovering and have a bit more time off. Working with children is exhausting and not quite the same as sitting behind a desk where you are less likely to get someone running in to you!!

fingers crossed i have keyhole and just ovaries and cyst out and not the whole lot

good luck everyone and thanks for all the tips it def helps to know you are not the only one going through this!!

HI Shaunagh1 and Sonar

Yes, the fruit analogies are something else! In fact, one of the doctors told me that she is actually used to seeing these guys melon sized and I thought "NO WAY"! But yes, I agree on the resting very much. For some reason I thought I could do a lot more than what I ended up being able to do, perhaps because they did it "mini c section" style but the way my doctor explained it to me when she called last night to check up on me is that "surgery is surgery". So, with that being said, it is very important for all of us to rest and take care of ourselves. I must say though that my cyst was so darn big that I am very surprised that they didn't need to take anything else out. My doctor told me last night that they had to drain it, then scrape it off the ovary but that the ovary looked fine afterwards and everything else did too That's good news for this girl because again, I was pretty sure it had entangled itself on other parts.

In general I am sure that if anything else looked "fishy" they would have taken it too as someone said.

And for all of us, I just can't wait to get the pathology report back. I go in on November 1st for a follow up and to get the results so I will most definitely let you girls know how it went and what the report said.

I guess my dermoid didn't have the typical dermoid qualities, which is hair, random body parts, etc. She said it could have just been "calcified fat" but no one knows until the reports come back. Dermoids have a lot of fat in them and I researched and found that often times they do get calcified so I'm praying that was the case with mine. She said it didn't look "quite like a dermoid" but it didn't look like cancer so I am hoping it was a weird looking dermoid But my blood tests were fine, everything else looked good, and everyone in general thinks that so fingers are totally crossed!!!

It's funny because this really is a process, isn't it? You get diagnosed with it. You wait for surgery. You recover after surgery. You wait for the results. And by the time it is all over months have passed. I am just thankful we are all here to tell about it and that they surgery (even mine) really was not as bad as carrying this darn thing inside of me for so long, plus all of the pain it caused.

Bernie, I promise you will be fine!! I know it is scary because it hasn't happened yet but from all of the stories I read before going into surgery all of the women talked about the relief they felt when it was over and I wondered if I would feel the same way because mine was so big. But it is true!! The pain is nothing in comparison to the discomfort caused by the cyst. And they most likely will not take out the whole lot though I got the same warning. They just have to say that (standard procedure). And it most likely will be keyhole hon

Please keep us posted!!

Thank you ladies for all of your help and I am so pleased to read that all of us are healing just fine!!!

God bless xoxo

Bernie, when is your op? I know you said three weeks in your original post so it must be fairly soon. Please let us know so that we can all send you positive vibes on the day I too had lots of adhesions and my op took longer than planned because the surgeon needed to separate lots of things but I was still able to have keyhole surgery so hopefully you should be fine. It is interesting to read about other ladies' experiences; mine was a dermoid cyst so the surgeon explained that it is important to avoid any leakage so it had to be placed in a bag and sealed before it could be removed. Having read about what can be found inside a dermoid I was very grateful that none of the contents were left inside me! I was also given a lovely set of photographs of my surgery!! Don't think I will be hanging those on the living room wall any time soon! Anyway, hope all the post-op ladies are getting the rest they need and Bernie, yours will soon be over and you will be recovering along with the rest of us and you will feel a huge sense of relief. Take care everyone xxx

Thank you for all your reassuring words!! op is on Tuesday morning, I have my ibruprofen, parecetomol, windezze tablets, senna tablets, wipes, phone, bell, dvds, books, magazines ready to put on my coffee table next to the sofa have I forgotten anything?

I just want it to be over get rid of cyst pain, back pain and bloat!! oh yes and tiredness, I am expecting to be a new woman in a few weeks time Just developed a bit of constipation bad timing, did any of you ladies take senna before your op to clear you out a bit, sure you don't mind these basic questions

Don't forget a pillow to put under the seatbelt on your way home and some comfortable clothes to come home in. Accept the pain relief offered, don't wait until you need something, it is much better to be pain free! If anything I had a permanent upset stomach for some weeks before my op; don't know if this was a symptom of the cyst or just anxiety but I lost over a stone as a result. Hopefully things in that department will improve now. A gentle laxative shouldn't do you any harm. Are you staying in hospital for a night? I had a catheter for the first night so couldn't really get out of bed, a hand mirror was useful to check that I didn't look too scary for my visitors! I will be thinking of you on Tuesday, please let us know how it goes as soon as you are able xx

oh yes a pillow forgot that!! Probably will be staying in not sure how long for tho. yes I will also have my lipstick at hand no doubt I will look a fright!

had plans to do lots of sit ups so my core was nice and strong, didn't quite get around to that and now only 2 days away so might leave that well alone. the best laid plans !! i will message as soon as I am able

Oh Bernie you made me smile then! I had exactly the same idea; my plan was to do fifty sit-ups every night leading up to my op so that my stomach muscles would be good and strong and simply bounce back into shape after the surgery. I tried it once, managed about ten and gave it up as a bad job! You take care xx

I expect it will be a while before we are allowed to officially do sit ups post op!! why are good ideas so hard to implement

Good luck.

I thankfully didn't need any of the things suggested but I did wish I had some eye drops. Not sure if i had grit in my eyes or it was to do with the GA (do they tape your eyes shut?) but mine really stung. Only felt normal after the first nights sleep.

Thanks Ladies, you don't know how reassuring this thread has made me feel.

Only went to my GP last month to get some medication to delay my periods as I was going on holiday. Happened to mention to her that they had become very heavy & clotty so she referred me for a scan to check for fibroids.

HAd the scan last monday and the scan person?! told me I had a sizeable cyst on my left ovary.......well that was it, I went into complete meltdown & instantly assumed the worst! Thankfully I have private health insurance and was able to get an appointment with the gynae for yesterday....he confirmed that my 'little friend' was a dermoid cyst 12x8cm! My bloods came back clear and I'm booked in for next monday to have my op.

I was due to go on holiday this saturday but have cancelled it, whilst I am fortunate to not have constant pain I do feel the odd twinge & a couple of weeks ago I must of done something because my left side ached for about 2 hours after a very sharp pain(this was before I had my scan)! My question to you all is would you have cancelled your holiday?? Bearing in mind I was travelling with hubby & 2 kids! I didn't want to sit there afraid to move incase something twinged and also my consultant said if I was to travel to check out the hosital facilities!! As it is, it sounds like I'm going to have a mini c-section.....can you imagine that happening on holiday and not being able to fly home for weeks!!

It's funny but once you are told that there is something there I am more aware of the twinges & the dull ache in my back, I am hoping this disappears along with my bloated 3 month belly.......did ask the gynae for a tummy tuck at the same time & he politely laughed!!!

Will keep you updated