Ovarian
dermoids are the
most common of all the ovarian tumors encountered by the
gynecologist. The vast majority of these tumors occurs
without symptoms and is benign, although they can be
malignant in about 10% of the cases, especially if they
occur after the age of 40. Ovarian dermoids are
generally found during routine pelvic exams as
incidental findings. They are semi-solid, semi-cystic
tumors that are filled with oily sebaceous material,
hair, teeth, bone, cartilage, and almost any other
tissue. Dermoid cysts tend to occur in younger women.
These cysts can grow quite large - up to 15 cm across.
More than half of dermoid cysts resolve and disappear on
their own within a few months. They generally tend to
run in families. Most women have these dermoids in only
one ovary but around 10% to 15% have them in both
ovaries.
Ovarian
dermoid cysts are
also called mature teratoma and often do not require any
medical or surgical intervention. But in some cases they
may become irritated, rupture, or twist the ovaries.
Twisting of the ovaries is called ovary torsion and
affects the blood supply to the ovary leading to
necrosis. Rupture may lead to infection of the abdominal
cavity. These conditions require emergency surgery.
Many
misconceptions and myths surround this condition often
leading to mental trauma and depression in patients with
dermoid cysts. They are often dreadful to look at
because they resemble a small human being in the ovary.
Each cyst may be different to look at from the other
because they are made up differently. Even though they
are harmless, close monitoring is advised to avoid
further complications. The dermoid cyst does not have
any impact on the patient’s fertility and neither does
the removal of the cyst result in
infertility.
There are
many treatment alternatives that can treat the symptoms
but conventional medicine offers only surgical removal
of the ovarian dermoid. Surgery also does not guarantee
complete eradication of the cysts, and they may recur in
future. Hence an ideal way to deal with an ovarian
dermoid would be to take the help of the holistic
approach to eliminate altogether the reason why the cyst
was formed. Therefore, you can benefit a great deal from
holistic wisdom in finding out its basic cause and
completely eradicating these kinds of
cysts.
