What is ovarian cysts removal like?
Friday, January 29th, 2010 at
7:28 pm
I have PCOS and my doctor found a cyst that is more than 5 inches on my ovary. I have an appointment to go back in 6 weeks and if it has not gotten smaller I will probably have to have it removed. I was just wondering, what is the surgery like? Where do they go in, where do they cut, etc. Will I have scars and will it hurt? Will it damage anything?
Filed under: Ovarian Cyst Removal
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If it doesn’t shrink, you’ll probably have a laparascopy. During this, they make an incision in your belly button and one to two 1 inch incisions in your lower abdomen. They’ll then insert the laparascope ( a long tube with a light on the end) through your belly button and use that to drain and remove the cyst. If they are unable to drain it, they’ll make a larger incision to remove it. But most are able to be removed by laparascopy.
Afterwards, you’ll be very sore for about a week. Be prepared to not go up stairs or do any lifting. Also, you may want to bring a pillow to hug to your stomach on the ride home – some people say that helps support it better.
The worst part is actually the intestinal problems afterwards – since they inflate your abdomen with air, you may have a lot of painful gas. The lower incisions tend not to hurt as much as be itchy. The one through the belly button is the sorest, but when it heals, you can’t really see it. You can see the other two, but they are pretty low.
There’s always a risk of damage to surrounding organs in any surgery, but it’s very low.
The link below is from a doctor’s office describing the surgery, but be warned – there’s pictures! So if you’re squeamish, it might not be for you. The forum post is some actual experiences with the surgery to give you a better idea what to expect.
Hopefully it will shrink on it’s own, and you won’t need surgery at all!