12 cm ovarian cyst

[Carol43]

So as the title says I have a 12cm ovarian cyst which is causing some pain. I’ve been advised to have it removed and recovery would be 4-6 weeks !!!!! I can’t be off work that long as I’m self employed. Has anyone been through this ? And also is it possible it could be cancerous ? I’m 42 and have 3 children

I had a 7cm ovarian cyst removed and a couple of other gynae things done at the same time. I took a week off work. I recovered well from the surgery itself but felt ever so slightly drunk sort of from the anaesthetic for a couple of weeks and just rough. I went back to my teaching job after one week as I felt bad but it was stupid. Dr would have happily signed me off for two weeks and two would have been just right for me. Maybe bigger cysts need longer off. Don't rush back.

I had one that was much larger. From what I understand it could have been painful if it had twisted or burst. Honestly, just get rid of it. It will likely only grow (assuming it's a mucous forming cyst) and at least it's under controlled situation
Can you work from bed? Like online stuff or are you more 'active' in your job?

... btw mine was about 22cm, had to have a laparotomy to get the cyst out and was off 12 weeks then another 4 weeks phased return as my stomach muscles were weak and I was struggling with my lab based job

It will depend on the type of surgery you have. If its a laproscopy you may only need a couple of weeks off. If it's a laparotomy it will be longer because it's open surgery.

They will send the cyst off for testing after surgery and you will find out the histology then. They can sometimes tell if it looks suspicious, but not always. Have you had a blood test?

I had a 14cm ovarian dermoid that my gp kept insisting wasn't there, until it twisted.

Then I collapsed with a necrotic ovary & tube, abdo infection and sores all up my back. 7 days in women's surgical and seven weeks off work.

OP, don't let yours get that bad, the pain was excruciating and it's dangerous.

They biopsied mine carefully, so I guess that means it could have been malignant. Thankfully it wasn't.

I had a 10cm one removed last year. It was a dermoid so it was quite solid, so I had to have open surgery (a laparotomy). Sorry to say OP, if you have to have the same type of surgery you definitely will need 6 weeks off work. I was off for 7. If you have keyhole, it will be a much shorter recovery. But because yours is big, open surgery seems likely like mine.

I was told very low risk of cancer for mine, they did an MRI scan before surgery and were almost certain, but they couldn't tell me 100% until it was removed and sent off to pathology. Luckily they were right, it wasn't cancer.

I had 4 weeks off when I had my ovary and fallopian tube removed along with the grapefruit cyst wrapped around it.