Management of Postmenopausal Women with Simple Cyst

Abstract

Introduction:Ovarian cysts in postmenopausal women are now known to be very common and maximum are not malignant. The exact prevalence is unknown given the limited amount of published data and the lack of established screening programs for ovarian cancer. However, studies have estimated the incidence to be anywhere between 5% and 17% 1-4 and 60-70% of unilocular cyst resolved spontaneously [5][6][7][8] . In Bangladesh we do not have exact data for the incidence but postmenopausal women with cysts are diagnosed as routine USG or in a woman who complains of slight discomfort in lower abdomen for any reason. Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death due to gynecological malignancy in many countries. Owing to very high mortality and severe morbidities, any postmenopausal woman is scared even with simple cyst. Before the era of USG if pelvic examination revealed palpable ovaries, those ovaries were removed. Now USG is able to detect cysts far before it becomes palpable and most of them are benign. Many women honor the ovaries and not happy to remove it. On the other hand once cysts are found in post menopausal women many women get frightened and request for the removal of cysts. So the gynecologist often faces the real challenge to treat Original Articles