A woman in Italy had a medicine ball-sized cyst removed from her ovaries after assuming she was just obese.
The unnamed 52-year-old woman underwent a six-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the 11-pound mass, which formed on her right ovary and grew to 16 inches in length.
The doctors blamed the late diagnosis on the fact that she was poor and had a low level of education, so she did not realize that she needed to seek medical help.
The patient, a 52-year-old Italian woman, had an 11-pound ovarian cyst that caused her abdomen to swell greatly. She also complained of early satiety, meaning she would get full after eating very little, constipation, difficulty walking, and difficulty breathing.
When doctors removed the 11-pound mass, the patient lost six liters of blood, about 25 cups, or 200 ounces. He stayed in this hospital for two months, half of which was in the intensive care unit, where he went into cardiac arrest.
The patient presented with an extremely swollen abdomen and reflux, which is when stomach acid or bile backs up up the esophagus.
She also complained of feeling full very quickly, constipation, difficulty walking, and difficulty breathing.
An ultrasound revealed that her abdominal cavity was completely occupied by lesions.
The cyst was 40 centimeters (15 inches) long and weighed about five kilograms (11 pounds).
Despite the massive cyst, she had normal menstrual cycles with no hormonal effects.
CT scan of the tumor before surgery
The operation to remove the growth was considered high-risk, but the researchers wrote that “surgery is mandatory” in these cases.
Doctors drained the 37-liter cyst of thick brown fluid before performing a hysterectomy, a procedure to remove the uterus and ovaries.
A plastic surgeon then reconstructed the wall of the abdomen, since the cyst had spread throughout that area.
The surgery lasted about six and a half hours, during which the patient lost six liters of blood. This is equal to about 25 cups or 200 ounces. She received transfusions for blood loss.
Before surgery, the patient weighed 271 pounds (123 kilograms) and had a body mass index (BMI) of 50.5, making her morbidly obese.
At the end of the procedure, her BMI was 28.3.
The patient remained in the intensive care unit for about 30 days, during which she suffered cardiac arrest and acute renal failure.
He stayed in the hospital for two months. After two years, “she is fully recovered and free of disease,” the researchers wrote.
They said the “late diagnosis in this woman was likely due to her low socioeconomic and educational status, which led the patient to postpone medical evaluation because she assumed she was becoming obese.”
Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled sacs that develop on or within one of a woman’s two ovaries.
Most of the time these are harmless and most women don’t know they have them unless they show up on a scan.
Experts estimate that one in 10 American women experience them, and about 5 to 10 percent of women have surgery.
Most of these occur naturally and disappear within a few months without the need for any treatment.
An ovarian cyst usually only causes symptoms if it divides, is very large, or blocks the blood supply to the ovaries.
symptoms, according to mayo clinicThey include dull or high-pitched cerebri that comes and goes, fullness or heaviness in the belly, bloating, pain during intercourse, and heavy or painful periods.
If a cyst ruptures, it can cause sharp pain in the back or lower abdomen, spotting, bloating, nausea or vomiting, fever, and dizziness.
The vast majority of ovarian cysts are not cancerous (benign), although a small number are cancerous (malignant). Cancerous cysts are more common in women who have gone through the menopause.
The woman in the case study had a borderline ovarian tumor, which are masses made up of abnormal cells. They are not cancerous, but have the potential to become cancer.
The researchers wrote that borderline tumors account for about 10 percent of ovarian cyst cases.
Ovulation, when a mature egg is released from the ovary so that it can travel down the fallopian tubes and be fertilized, is the main cause of ovarian cysts.
Ovarian cysts can sometimes also be caused by an underlying condition, such as endometriosis.
Other risk factors include hormonal problems, pregnancy, and pelvic infection. If you have had an ovarian cyst in the past, you are more likely to develop others.
The case report was published last week in the American Journal of Case Reports.
