WOMENS-HEALTH Messages for July, 2001: Re: Dermoid Tumors

Re: Dermoid Tumors

From: R. Daniel Braun, MD (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Thu, 26 Jul 2001 17:52:13 -0500 (CDT)

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In reply to: Tara: "Dermoid Tumors"

At Thu, 26 Jul 2001, Tara wrote: >
>Just how rare are dermoid tumors? There is a lot of information on the
>internet about them, however, I have had two doctors tell me that they
>are very rare.
>In December of '99 I found out that I had two dermoid tumors, one was
>the size of a melon and the other was the size of a baseball. I lost my
>left ovary, my left fallopian tube and half of my right ovary and I was
>only 19. Now at 21 years old, I just had surgery on July 2nd to remove
>a recurrent tumor on my right ovary. The doctor was able to
>successfully remove the tumor and salvage a little bit of my ovary. Now
>we are waiting to see if it is functional. If these tumors are so rare,
>how did I end up with 3 of them? This tumor grew back within a year and
>a half, what is the probability of another one growing? I only have 1/4
>of an ovary left, what will be my chances of having children if the
>ovary functions? If the tumor would grow back would I have any choice
>other than having the ovary removed because there isn't much left of it,
>I think that my doctor has probably removed as much of it as he possibly
>how long could I leave it there without it
>effecting my health or causing me pain?

Benign Cystic Teratomas include the subgroup of "Dermoids". These make up about 5-10% of all cystic ovarian growths. I can't tell ytou what percent of women have a Dermoid. Most practicing Gynecologists will see 1 or maybe 2 patients a year who have a Dermoid. 25% of women who have a dermoid will also have one on the other ovary. They seldom recur. The best treatment for them is to shell the tumor out of the ovary and take out no ovary at all. On occasions this can not be done. As long as you have some ovarian tissue and a uterus, you could have a pregnancy. After the operations that were done, you might have adhesions and scarring around the tube that remains. This would be the most likely cauise of infertility. If so, IVF would be needed for you to get pregnant. 3% of one ovary will be enough if it is left.

--
R.Daniel Braun, MD  FACOG   FOG
**Note:  Opinions expressed here are for educational purposes only
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