Possible Recommendations in Treating Ovarian Cysts

In case the woman does develop an ovarian cyst, she may also get an ovarian cystectomy performed by her physician. Some cysts can be removed without removal of the ovaries (ovarian cystectomy). If a cyst is large or suspected to be malignant, your healthcare provider might remove one or both of the ovaries. If it is cancerous, the doctor may have to remove one or both ovaries, your uterus, the fatty tissue fold called your omentum, and certain lymph nodes.

If the cyst is cancerous, you may need the ovaries and other tissues removed. If the cyst is painful, or has persisted and is growing, surgery can be used to remove the cyst from your ovaries. This type of cyst requires immediate treatment to prevent permanent damage to the ovary. In rare cases, doctors suggest removal of one or even both of the ovaries — if, for example, they believe that cancer may be present, or if cutting a cyst from ovaries tissue would prove difficult.

Conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome and ovarian cancer also include growths in the ovaries. Taking fertility drugs frequently causes multiple follicles (cysts) to develop on your ovaries. The fertility medication clomiphene (Clomemid) is associated with an increased incidence of ovarian cysts, as the drug can cause multiple follicles to develop in the ovaries.

Taking hormones that promote ovulation as part of fertility treatments can also make you more vulnerable to developing ovarian cysts. Fortunately, birth control also helps to prevent ovarian cysts, and may even help reduce your risk for ovarian cancer. Taking a hormonal form of birth control, like a pill, patch, ring, or IUD, may be an effective way to keep ovarian cysts from developing. Although cysts cannot be completely prevented, an individual can reduce the risk of developing them if he or she takes hormonal birth control.

If you frequently develop functional cysts, your health care provider may want you to take birth control pills or another form of hormonal birth control to keep from getting pregnant. Your health care provider can give you medications that contain hormones (such as birth control pills) to prevent you from getting pregnant and to keep future cysts from forming. To prevent the recurrence of further ovarian cysts, OB/GYNs may prescribe birth control pills to regulate your hormones. Treatment options include observation, surgical removal, and hormonal treatment (birth control pills) to prevent the growth of additional cysts.

Being that these cysts are prevalent among people with endometriosis, birth control can be implemented to slow the growth of them, which, in turn, can control pain. Oral birth control methods do not eliminate existing cysts, but can help to prevent more from developing. Although birth control pills decrease the hormones produced in your ovaries and prevent you from getting pregnant, studies show this does not make the cyst disappear faster. Birth Control, in its various forms, prevents the ovary from functioning and preventing ovulation.

When a woman fails to produce an egg, it is because of a disruption of normal egg development caused by a long-term alteration of hormonal levels; the ovary can look larger, with a surplus of fluid-filled pouches or cysts. Cystic growth may result in ovaries moving, increasing the likelihood of a painful ovular twisting event (ovarian torsion). Ovarian torsion may reduce blood flow to the ovaries by twisting painfully.

It is not possible to prevent ovarian cysts, but by regularly checking and getting a pelvic exam, you can take an active role in your health and make sure that changes that you might be seeing in your ovaries are diagnosed sooner rather than later. You can lower the risk of complications from ovarian cysts by getting a pelvic exam every year, and seeking medical care if you experience unusual pelvic pain or irregular bleeding. Although it is highly recommended that you talk to a physician before stopping any fertility medications, doing so greatly decreases the chances that a woman will develop an ovarian cyst.

Your doctor will probably advise getting pelvic ultrasounds periodically at intervals to check whether cysts have changed size. Depending on the results of your diagnostic tests, sometimes it is good to go for regular checks (every month or several months) so your doctor can monitor the cyst.

If you are thought to possibly have an ovarian cyst, your health care provider will ask about symptoms, like problems with your period (menstrual cycle) and pain, and may do blood tests. If the cyst is partly solid, and you are at a high risk for ovarian cancer, the doctor might order this test.

If your cyst is causing no bothersome symptoms, your doctor may recommend checking it again with an ultrasound a few months later. If your cyst looks too large for removal using the laparoscope, or your cyst looks suspicious in any way, your doctor will likely perform a laparotomy.

Your doctor can perform multiple ultrasounds in several months to monitor the cyst and make sure that it is gone or does not get bigger. If the woman has no symptoms and an ultrasound shows a small, fluid-filled cyst, a doctor may recommend periodically checking every one to three months to see if the small size or appearance changes.

If an ovarian cyst is benign, removal of the contralateral ovaries should be considered for women older than 35 years, who are past menopausal, perimenopausal, and who are thought to have increased genetic risks of later developing ovarian cancer after menopause. Removal of the benign cyst only–such as a dermoid or functional cyst, or endometrioma–with preservation of the ovary can be performed for patients who wish to retain the ovaries for future fertility or other reasons.

Weight loss If an individual is overweight, losing weight can help his body better regulate his hormones, prevent more cysts from developing, and improve symptoms such as pain and fatigue. Exercise and stretching lifestyle changes, such as increasing activity levels, can help a person to be healthier in general and can help to cope with symptoms of ovarian cysts.