Ovarian Tumor – Potential Danger

Article written by Doctor Nguyen Chi Quang - Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology - Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital

Ovarian tumor is a tumor that develops from the ovary. Tumors can be malignant (cancerous) or benign. The disease progresses silently, rarely causing symptoms. Or when there are symptoms, the tumor is twisted, necrotic, broken... or the cancer has metastasized.

Functional tumor: is a tumor that occurs during the operation of the ovary, for example, a tumor caused by bleeding in an ovarian follicle, mature follicle, or overstimulated ovary (due to ovarian stimulation during assisted delivery). corpus luteum), corpus luteum. The biggest feature of functional ovarian tumor is that it can go away on its own within 3 months and is always benign. Physical tumors: are true tumors caused by cell proliferation. The most important feature is that the tumor does not go away on its own and can be malignant (ovarian cancer).

Torsion: causing severe abdominal pain, the tumor may be necrotic, causing loss of function of the entire ovary. rupture: causing severe abdominal pain, the fluid in the tumor spreads in the abdomen causing severe infection or causing heavy bleeding in the abdomen leads to life-threatening acute anemia Malignant effects on fertility

The most important thing in the treatment of ovarian tumors is to distinguish between functional and organic tumors.
If it is a functional tumor: Just follow up periodically, after 3 months it can disappear without any further treatment.
If it is a solid tumor: Surgery is required to bring 3 benefits:
Know exactly what the tumor is: benign or malignant Avoid complications: torsion Avoid complications of rupture If surgery is required , there are 2 surgical methods:
Removal of the ovary bearing the tumor: After surgery, only 1 ovary remains.
Removing the tumor, leaving the ovaries: After surgery, women still have 2 ovaries intact, without affecting the reproductive function.
Which method to choose depends on the age of the patient, as well as predicting the possibility of benign or malignant tumor before surgery.
Both of the above surgical methods can be performed through 2 methods:
Open abdominal surgery: wound 120-150 mm long Endoscopy: Wound only 5-10mm With outstanding advantages of laparoscopic surgery such as: very Less pain, small surgical scars, aesthetic, no need for antibiotics for prolonged treatment, 2-3 days hospital stay. The patient's recovery time is 3-5 days. Therefore, almost all cases of ovarian tumor surgery can be performed laparoscopically.

Besides the above two methods, currently, at Vinmec International General Hospital, robotic laparoscopic surgery is applied, which is a new and modern surgical method used to cut or remove ovarian cysts. With this method, the robot's arm will be inserted into the abdomen through the holes in the abdominal wall to perform the cutting or removal of ovarian cysts. With a system of modern machinery and high technology, this method requires a doctor to have a lot of experience and be well-trained and specialized in the use of techniques. Ovarian cyst is a fairly common disease in women. Most cysts are benign, some do not need to be treated, but there are patients who need surgery. The surgical method will depend on many factors such as the size of the tumor, the patient's condition... Therefore, you should monitor your health regularly, check periodically for timely treatment and most suitable.