How big does an ovarian cyst need to be before surgery is necessary?

For diseases like ovarian cysts, if the condition is very mild, conservative treatment can generally be adopted. However, if the condition is very serious, especially if malignant cysts occur, surgical treatment may be required. The surgical method generally involves direct removal of the ovarian cyst. This removal method is mainly used for younger patients. If the patient is older, the ovaries can be directly removed. So, how large does the ovarian cyst have to be before surgery is required?

How big does an ovarian cyst need to be before surgery is necessary?

Cysts with a diameter greater than 5 cm and less than 5 cm are generally considered physiological and require follow-up ultrasound examinations every 3 months. Most of them will shrink or disappear on their own, but they may grow again on the other ovary or the same ovary. If a cyst with a diameter greater than 5 cm is purely cystic, it is actually not very harmful. The main complications are rupture, infection, torsion, etc., so surgical treatment is recommended.

In what cases do ovarian cysts require surgery?

Ovarian cysts are not a diagnosis of a disease, but a finding on ultrasound that appears as a cyst. Some ovarian cysts are physiological, such as follicular cysts and corpus luteum cysts, which are formed during follicular development and corpus luteum absorption after ovulation. This type of ovarian cyst is mostly unilateral, with a diameter of less than 5 cm and thin walls. It can usually be absorbed naturally and can be followed up for 2-3 months and re-examined after the menstruation is over. The cyst may disappear on its own and usually does not require special treatment. However, if the cyst persists or grows larger after 3 months of follow-up, it should be considered a pathological cyst, such as an ovarian tumor, and surgical treatment should be considered. The most common pathological cysts on the ovaries are benign ovarian tumors, such as mature ovarian cystic teratoma, ovarian serous cystadenoma, mucinous cystadenoma, etc., and others include ovarian endometriosis cysts and so on. All pathological cysts should undergo surgery for definitive diagnosis and intervention.

It is important to be especially vigilant that if an ovarian cyst has moderate echoes on ultrasound, or has nipple components and blood flow signals, then one needs to be alert to the possibility of a borderline tumor or a malignant tumor. You should go to the hospital for surgery as soon as possible.

Therefore, after discovering an ovarian cyst, it is important to distinguish whether it is a physiological cyst or a pathological cyst. If it is considered a physiological cyst, it can be observed for 3 months. If the tumor shrinks or disappears, the diagnosis is verified. If it is considered to be pathological, surgical treatment should be performed.

Therefore, it can be found that in addition to considering the size of the cyst, the treatment surgery for cysts also needs to analyze which surgery is suitable for the patient based on the different conditions of the disease. Patients need to communicate more with their attending physicians to find a treatment method that is more suitable for them.