Ovarian cysts are sacs in the ovaries that contain fluid, semi-solid fluid or sometimes matured skin cells. This happens when the sacs called follicles fail to vanish or disappear after they have released the egg cell during ovulation.
These sacs or cysts hoard fluid and can grow as big as 17cm in diameter. This means, the same equal amount of water can be contained on that space. If filled well, ovarian cysts can weight approximately 2-3 kilograms.

What is the effect of this on women?

A woman with an ovarian cyst greater than 4cm has noticeably bigger abdomen. If the cyst grows, the woman would look like a pregnant woman without the contractions. The woman will have difficulty in ambulating and moving around because of the added weight of the ovarian cyst. This will also mean the woman with ovarian cyst will have weight gain and will continuously become heavier as the ovarian cyst grows in size.

How is weight reduced?

Unlike fats, exercise is not effective for weight reduction of women with ovarian cysts.  It has to be taken out of the body for the abdomen to begin going back to its usual form. An ovarian cyst  greater than 2.5 cm is already recommended for removal by most physicians because of the possibility of disruption of normal ovulation process and rupture which will cause bleeding and pain to the woman.

Surgical removal of the ovarian cyst is done through general anesthesia, which means the whole body and senses of the patient will be halted. The removal of the ovarian cyst may be done by cutting the abdomen open or laparotomy and through small incisions or laparoscopy. The kind of surgery will depend on the evaluation of the doctor. When the ovarian cyst is removed, the added weight on the woman will also be reduced. The bulging abdomen will no longer be visible and the heaviness will no longer be felt by the woman.

Women with ovarian cyst should give attention to the problem of weight gain because it does not only exhaust the woman physically but it also predisposes her to many cardiac and respiratory problems. Furthermore, it is not enough knowing that ovarian cyst causes the weight gain, there should measures taken and started to remove the ovarian cyst as well.

Ovarian cysts are fluid filled sac on the walls of the ovaries. They are slightly lighter than the color of the ovaries which is red-orange and hardly recognized with an untrained eye. Some of them contain not just fluid inside but fats and mature cells. In surgeries which removes them, hair follicles and teeth can be found inside the ovarian cyst. For those who are not in the field of medicine, they would think that a child had been inside the cyst when actually it is not.

Ovarian cysts are diagnosed and confirmed through ultrasound. It visualizes the location and the size of the ovarian cyst. Laparoscopic cystectomy also enables the surgeon to visualize the location and the position of the cyst. However, this procedure includes removal of the ovarian cyst at the moment it is located.

Ovarian cysts can grow in diameter as big as 17 centimeters.  To better visualize the size, a pea is used as comparison.  At growing size, the abdomen becomes noticeably bigger as well. For women who feel no pain or discomfort, they regard this as stored belly fat. The presence of pain indicates complication and further harm.

Ovarian cysts are like small balloons filled with water or a slimy fluid. The fluids are clear, sometimes yellow and some are brown in color. Imagine a big ball that can be contained in a basin. They weigh so much that a 7 year old kid can barely carry it. That is how big and heavy an ovarian cyst can be.  When ruptured, the cyst is like a balloon filled with water and suddenly came into burst. The sac is still present but the contents continue to spread at adjacent areas. The spread is at an unpredictable rate The contents will affect these areas  that medical intervention should be sought promptly.

There are types of cysts according to its contents and structures. The functional type are those located on ovaries and yet pose no disruption on the ovulation process of the woman. The non-functional type is the one that is prone to rupture and bleeding. At any rate, it is best that a woman should seek her doctor’s advice regarding her ovarian cyst.