Management of ovarian cysts in pregnancy: a case report

According to recent epidemiological studies on ovarian cysts during pregnancy one out of 600 are, in most cases, benign neoformations. The most frequent histological type reported is mature cystic teratoma (50% of the cases), followed by functional cysts (13%), benign cystadenomas (20%) and ovarian cancer (0.6%). Most adnexal masses are asymptomatic and spontaneously resolve before the 16th week of amenorrhoea. On the other hand, some cases are persistent forms which can cause complications for the mother and fetus. The objective of this work was to review the existing literature from an epidemiological point of view, with an emphasis on diagnostic and therapeutic management. We have paid particular attention in our review to the use of diagnostic techniques and non surgical therapies such as laparoscopy, which in expert hands and adopting particular skills, can be considered as on approach to ovarian cysts in pregnancy. We present the case of a patient with an ovarian cyst during pregnancy that was a successfully treated with laparoscopy.