In two minds about surgery. Please help x

[ChloeL934]

Hi all,

So this may be a long one lol!

Myself and my husband have been trying for a baby for 3 years now, I’ve got a small cyst on the left ovary under 2cm and on the right one just under 5cm, husband has sperm count of around 12 million and morphology 1%. I don’t really experience much pain, but last 2 months when I have my period have a few days where pain is quite bad, nothing that can’t be managed with heat pad and medication, now my dilemma is:

My consultant said it would be a good idea for surgery before proceeding to IVF. she said she will remove the cyst and check my tubes again, last time I had my tubes checked with the dye & Xray and they were fine, I said ok to the surgery as I thought I wanted to give myself the best chance possible for IVF now my issue is;

Am I going to make things worse as I’m not in pain everyday?

What if the cyst grows back quick and gets bigger than 5cm as for the past 3 years it’s never grown over 5cm and it grows back before I get the referral for IVF and need further surgery? After having one surgery am I liking to keep needing more?

Then I don’t just want to leave things because I don’t know how bad things actually are as these cysts have only been diagnosed on a tv scan.

Will having the cyst removed before IVF even make a difference and benefit me in anyway?

Sorry for the long post and all the questions but I wanted some personal thoughts and experiences before I even proceed with the surgery I am going to get onto my hospital to see if I can get a telephone appointment with my fertility doctor to discuss my concerns, I don’t want to have surgery unless I’m 100% sure it’s the right thing for me.

Thanks all xx

[Moonglo]

Hello there. I was with a standard endo surgeon (not bsge) when we had a very similar discussion.

I had a chocolate cyst around 6cm on my right ovary and wanted to start IVF. My left ovary was already out from a previous ruptured cyst, so my chances were already halved. We decided that she would ‘puncture’ the cyst rather than remove it (the risk being that the area/ovary scars/gets more adhesions the more times you operate).

As it happens, the week before surgery, my cyst decided to rupture and I had to have emergency surgery anyway.

Rightly or wrongly, I started IVF about 4-5 weeks after surgery, and they found another cyst growing (about 2-3 cm) which wasn’t large enough for concern. Unfortunately my egg count wasn’t enough to proceed to collection, but we were prepared for this eventuality.

Think of your own health. One thing they want to know anyway for IVF is whether your tubes are clear, so they can determine the type of IVF treatment to offer you. A cyst of 5cm is not as large as some I’ve heard of, but it’s large enough to cause concern. A large cyst can also interfere with the hormones they give you for IVF. If you do get pregnant, no doubt the baby would put pressure on that area. If the cyst hasn’t been growing that quickly, chances are it shouldn’t grow that quickly again, but that’s something we’ll never know, but they should monitor for cysts anyway each time you get a scan.

You mention your consultant but I wasn’t sure if they are an IVF consultant? Have you spoken to them about this?

[ChloeL934 in reply to Moonglo]

Thanks for replying,

I don’t have IVF at my local hospital, so we would need to be referred, the consultant I’m under is a fertility specialist and after seeing her for 2 years now, she said it would be sensible to have a look inside & remove anything found along with checking my tubes, I’ve never had any surgery so I don’t know the extent or endo but I’ve had the chocolate cysts for 2 + years now. Xx

[Moonglo in reply to ChloeL934]

If you can, I suggest talking to an ivf consultant too as they’d know about the issues with having a cyst while undergoing IVF.

If you can’t, see if you can ask your consultant the questions you have here with us. Having an op is a big step and you want to make an informed choice after weighing up the risks.

[ChloeL934 in reply to Moonglo]

Yes, exactly. I’ve just called and the secretary is away until 3rd August, so I’ve wrote a list with questions / concerns and I’m going to call back then. I’m not going to go through with it until I’m 100% sure it’s the right choice for me x

[Moonglo in reply to ChloeL934]

Absolutely. Hopefully the hive mind has given you some more questions to ponder!

Best of luck x

[dolly26]

Hi I had surgery to remove stage 4 endo in 2014 (my consultant told me it was over everything and was making it impossible to get pregnant) after trying unsuccessful for 2.5 years to get pregnant. We also have male factor fertility issues with mobility and morphology. And successfully got pregnant naturally 4 months after my surgery and she is nearly 5.

I am currently waiting for more endo removal to see if I can get pregnant again as we have been trying for a second for 4 years and 2 early miscarriages in that time.

[ChloeL934 in reply to dolly26]

Thank you so much, it’s such a hard decision and I don’t want to regret anything xx

[Afrohair]

You can’t say if things will get worse or better it’s unpredictable but take into account things like egg reserve each surgery affects this and scar tissue can prevent pregnancy I really don’t know why they advised removal before ivf but me personally wouldn’t be fond of it if I didn’t want it a few people on here have ivf with a cyst as if it’s not bad enough I hope that it just happens for you I really do wish you all the luck x

[Moonglo in reply to Afrohair]

It really depends on the size of the cyst. I had IVF with a 2cm cyst, but a 5cm one has other risks that need to be considered. You’re right about operations and the risk of egg reserves being depleted.

As usual, we need to decide between a rock and a hard place.

[Afrohair in reply to Moonglo]

I’m not familiar with the risks of a 5cm cyst But just don’t feel forced if your not sure lots of people have bigger and get pregnant x