J Eileen Henry

Not Everyone is a Candidate For Laparoscopic Ovarian Cystectomy

Not every woman will be able to have a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy, there are certain times when they will be required to have the more invasive procedure, known as a laparotomy. A surgeon will determine which procedure is best by weighing many factors.

A Laparoscopic Ovarian Cystectomy is used to affirm the doctors diagnosis of the presence of an ovarian cyst and to rule out the possibility of cancer. The surgeon will also remove the cyst if it has been causing a patient pain, excessive bleeding or one of the other symptoms. However, unless the physician is very suspicious about the cyst, surgery should be the last option.

An ovarian cyst is often found either when one or more symptoms present themselves, or from a gynecological pelvic examination. When a cyst is discovered, a surgeon might feel as though the first thing that they should do is nothing! Yes, even though that seems like the totally opposite solution for a doctor to suggest, it very possibly will solve the problem. Many times, the cyst will either shrink, or disappear completely within one to three months. Oral contraceptives are sometimes given to the woman, because by preventing ovulation, the hormone levels will adjust, which would mean that the cyst will begin to get smaller. Another alternative to having a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy is having the cyst drained with a needle.

A doctor may determine that a surgical procedure is needed, but not all women are suited for the less invasive laparoscopic cystectomy. Age, for one plays a big factor in deciding whether or not a laparoscopy should be done. If the doctor suspects that a patient may have ovarian cancer, they will not perform a laparoscopic operation, because the ovaries will need to be removed. If the woman is postmenopausal that means that they are not ovulating, therefore a doctor will very likely want to explore the issue through conventional, open surgery, or laparotomy. Additional reasons a surgeon would opt for a laparotomy over the laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy would be, if a cyst was found on both ovaries, or if the mass was larger than three inches.

A woman who has a laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy will usually be fully recuperated within a month, but may be back to some activities in around a week. Having the more obtrusive laparotomy however, will require a much longer recovery time...perhaps two or three months until a patients life returns to normal again.

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