Keep ovary with a cyst?

My ultrasound shows that one of my ovaries has a functional cyst. As I understand it, that is a common type of cyst and generally goes away on its own. My surgery is scheduled for March 19 and I don't want to delay. My doctor wants to take the ovary with the cyst (actually he wants to take both).

Has anyone kept an ovary with a cyst? Did it clear up? Was it a mistake? I could use your advice.

At my last ultrasound, I had a cyct on both ovaries, but my Doctor is planning on NOT removing them, as she described them as "cyclic cycts, that come typically during ovulation. She said it was very common for women to have these come and go each month. The only reason I am not concerned with the cycts is that they were not there in my previous ultrasounds, so it makes sense to me.

You can ask your doctor if why he thinks the ovaries should be removed..... he may think they are the type that don't come and go???? Definately ask questions!!!!

:-) Renee

I had many functional cysts and they went away with the birth control pill. I don't know how old you are or if the doctor feels that they just might not go away.

You can not keep a functional cyst. They can break or twist causing extreme pain.

This ovary thing is a big deal. I am getting mine out due to alot of cancer in my family especially my mom with ovaran cancer and I am 45. But everyone's situation is different.

I am not taking hormones if I can make it.


Good luck.

I had TAH/BSO on 14th due to severe endo, cysts, etc. My Dr. highly recommended that both my ovaries go due to the endo & cysts. I primarily only got cysts on my right ovary so had really pondered whether or not to keep the left but my Dr. assured me that if she left it I would more than likely end up back on the operating table within the next 2 years to remove it anyways. Since I'm not a fan of surgery I went w/ her advice. I am taking a very low dose of Estrogen but haven't decided if I'm going to continue to take them - I want to get past recovery before I worry about HRT. Its a hard decision with many factors weighing in, only advice I can offer is to research, research, research and have trust in your Dr. Good luck and take care of yourself

I have had functional cysts since my hyst and there was never any suggestion of removing them or the ovaries they were on. I also was not given bcp or any other type of meds to clear them up. As mentioned, it is actually fairly normal to have functional cysts and many women do not even realize they have them.

My cysts were found because of pelvic pain and because I continued to have pelvic pain, they were monitored through ultra sounds over several months and they cleared up on their own with no lingering effects.

I do not believe I would have even considered having my ovary(ies) removed because of a functional cyst prior to my hyst, nor do I believe my doctor would have removed my ovary(ies) because of a functional cyst. The cyst might have been removed during the surgery though.

Have you had a second opinion about what is best for you and your overall health? Since you are not sure you want your ovaries removed as your sugeron is suggesting, I would highly recommend seeking another medical opinion regarding what might be right for you!

Maybe this will help clear things up a little. I'm 50, and my doctor wants to take the ovaries even if they are healthy. He believes that the remaining life of the ovaries doesn't warrant leaving them. I consulted with a second doctor who is actually very anti-hyst minded. After considering my test results and exams, even he said I should have the hyst and remove both ovaries, even if they are healthy.

Neither doctor believes that my family history is risky and we don't know yet if I have endo/adeno. They both just think that at my age, it is the smart thing to do.

I know that recent studies show that keeping healthy ovaries is beneficial because they continue to create hormones in small amounts even after menopause.

If I were under 45 or over 55, I would know what to do, but I'm in the gray area. The doctor who will be performing the surgery will keep them if I want, even though he disagrees. I'm trying to decide what to do, and the cyst could be an issue if I knew that it could be a problem later.

I've asked over 2 pages of questions already and read several books recommended by my doctor. Both doctors that I consulted are very informative, and both spent a lot of time with me to give me the information I needed to decide on the hyst. But, they both agree - age 50 means remove ovaries.

They both say my hormones are very unbalanced and that removing the ovaries will make it more likely that I can get balanced and return to full health. With the fluctuating ovaries, it will be more difficult to get stable.

i had functional cysts, for years, and did not know what the agonizing pain was from, that i was going through. I was seeing a gastro dr about it. never knew it was a gyno issue. i was also 29 at the time. ended up after yrs of suffering and not being able to get pregnant after my 2nd kid, i had lap and they had to remove an ovary and tube because it was totally destroyed from rupturing cysts. so, they can rupture and cause severe pain. dr was going to try to save remaining ovary durind my tah, but it had several cysts and had to take it all. so even though functional cysts are not a threatening conditon, they cause extreme pain.