Ovarian Dermoid cyst - no follow up?

When investigating a change in tiredness levels and bathrooms habits, a transvaginal ultrasound where they found what appeared to be a 2.5 -3cm demon’s cyst on my left ovary. 

That was well over a year ago and I’ve not heard anything since, I called up my GP who said the gynaecology department put in the notes it wasn’t being monitored and I had been discharged from there service. 

im a little bit concerned about this, every now and then I get an uncomfortable pain in my left side and the symptoms I initially wanted investigated havnt gone away. Everything online says they tend to monitor it. I also really want children in the future, I’m 30 and want to save as much as my ovary as possible. Should I ask them to remove it? Should I ask for follow up scans? I’m very confused… they basically just said ‘here’s a lump, probably a dermoid, come back when it causes problems’ and I don’t know if that’s normal? 

  • Hello and thanks for your enquiry,

    I can appreciate your concern about your cyst and your symptoms. There are national NHS guidelines regarding the management of ovarian cysts that gynaecologists follow.

    Small simple type cysts less than 5 cm are not usually routinely followed up. Larger or different cysts types might be managed differently. For smaller cysts, surgery is generally avoided unless they continue to cause symptoms, or grow, or are large eg. 7cm or more to begin with. If you are having discomfort, then do go and discuss this further with your GP. They can refer you back to the gynaecology team for an assessment. They can advise you about this moving forward.

    I hope this helps,

    Best wishes,

    Vanda