5 cm right ovarian cyst post miscarriage

[carfreemama]

Panicky morning yesterday in ER.

I had a miscarriage at 7 weeks, almost 3 weeks ago. Bleeding stopped and then came back heavy. No pain. Went to ER to rule out incomplete miscarriage. Went for ultrasound. Confirmed completion of miscarriage, no problem. Also found 5 cm cyst in right ovary as "incidental finding." Radiology resident "couldn't say what it was;" but said the only concerning feature was its size. High-resolution ultrasound showed "nice, thin walls with no septations or nodules and no blood supply to cyst." All these things are good, supposedly. Recommended followup ultrasound in 6 weeks.

I was TERRIFIED. But when ER doc came back, he said "so, all good news. Hormones back to zero, no retained material. You can start TTC anytime."

I asked "what about the cyst?" He said, "oh, don't worry about that. That's a corpus luteum cyst, common with pregnancy. It's not concerning at all." When I asked why the radiologist was so freaky about it, he didn't really know. He looked at the pictures and saw no concerning features. I asked about its size and he said it was large, but that that's not abnormal. He said it was "probably a good idea" to follow up, but that he was confident it wasn't cancer.

Why didn't the radiologist connect it with my miscarriage, then? Why did she take such endless pictures and seem concerned? I'm still traumatized and scared.

[tylerdylan]

I am an ultrasound tech and from what you are describing I would agree with the ER doc. It sounds like nothing and I bet it will be gone when you go back for the 6 weeks follow-up. 5cm is big, but not huge. I can't imagine why the person who did your scan was freaking out and I question whether it was ultrasound technologist or a Radiologist who did your scan. I am from Canada and I know things are done differently here, but a Radiologist would never do your scan in Canada (they may come in at the end to have a look if something was confusing, but a simple cyst is nothing to get excited about) and I suspect it was an inexperienced tech who did your scan.
The cyst may be connected to the pregnancy or may be separate. Woman who aren't/haven't been pregnant can get these cysts too. I have seen cysts over 15cm that weren't cancer. I wouldn't stress about it

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[carfreemama]

thank you so much, tylerdylan. I'm actually in Nova Scotia. The first person to do the (initial) scan was a tech. Then the radiology resident came back and did the more in-depth one. She was the one who said its only concerning feature was its size. "Thin walls, no septations, no blood supply to cyst." She said if she was really concerned, she would have sent me for MRI instead of
6-week followup. I guess that's why I got so upset. The radiologist came in and took VERY detailed pictures. But she did say she didn't see cancer, she just didn't rule it out. And she said nothing about it being common in pregnancy or miscarriage. The thing I don't understand is why the ER doc, who handled my case and is the head of ER for the hospital, referred to it as a "corpus luteum cyst" and said it was a "sign of pregnancy." He said (according to my husband) "definitely not cancer."

Oh, I just found the ER report. Radiology resident says "Right ovary ux. Left ovary 5 cm cyst with no concerning features, but u/s recommended to ensure resolution in 6 weeks time. Patient very anxious and I did review findings with her." Guess I should find some reassurance in that, eh? I just realized I didn't PM you. But I will try not to obsess now. I know this is more a mental health issue at this point. Thanks again.

[tylerdylan]

You are very welcome. They always recommend follow-up ultrasound in 6 weeks for anything over 2.5cm. And I still say 5.0cm isn't really big in my books and with the lack of "concerning features" I wouldn't think twice about it.

[balancedmama]

I think they were just taking really good care to take lots of photos of it to be certain that it wasn't an ectopic pregnancy (not because of any likelihood of it being cancer.) When you have a m/c that is early and a larger cyst on your ovary, they just want to make sure that it isn't a baby.

I've had lots of ovarian cysts before, and I would feel confident if I were you that this isn't anything to worry about. Just follow up to make sure it's going away.

[carfreemama]

Thank you, balancedmama! It's so hard sorting out anxiety from a real health threat. I saw my counselor today, who is absolutely wonderful. The challenge right now is very much how to actually HEAR the reassurance people are giving me. It's actually kind of embarrassing being this upset about something that really does look like it's going to be okay. I guess it just follows on the heels of a very stressful few weeks. My tendency is to run away and avoid followup when things like this happen, which could some day potentially be very dangerous. I'm going to HAVE to go back for this ultrasound. Thanks to both of you.