Can I have surgery after giving birth if I have a teratoma before pregnancy?

If a teratoma is detected before pregnancy, can the patient have surgery after giving birth? This is a question that many patients want to know. Experts suggest that if a teratoma is detected before pregnancy, the patient generally needs to be treated first, surgically removed, and then become pregnant after the body recovers.

Ovarian teratoma, also known as ovarian dermoid cyst in medicine, is an ovarian germ cell tumor. Like other ovarian tumors, the cause of the disease is still unclear, and most of them occur before the oocyte matures and divides. Ovarian teratoma is a common and frequently occurring disease in female infertility, accounting for 50% of female infertility. This disease is not limited by age, and women of childbearing age are likely to develop ovarian teratoma. Generally, women with ovarian teratoma do not have obvious symptoms, so they are often not taken seriously. Ovarian teratoma before pregnancy can cause women to ovulate less and become unable to become pregnant. Teratoma grows with the fetus during pregnancy, posing a threat to the health of mother and child. At the same time, surgery during pregnancy also makes the operation difficult. Remind women who are preparing to become pregnant to have a pre-pregnancy check to eliminate such risks.

In addition, because the center of the ovarian teratoma is often biased to one side and is located higher, it is easy to twist. If not treated in time, it is easy to cause cyst rupture and infection, which can lead to acute peritonitis. The long-term existence of the teratoma is very likely to become malignant and pose a threat to life. When the teratoma is too large, it will cause compression to other organs of the body, causing symptoms such as respiratory choking and abdominal pain. When the teratoma grows rapidly, the body's functions will decline, and adverse reactions will occur throughout the body, such as weight loss, anemia, tumor fever and other systemic symptoms. Therefore, once an ovarian teratoma is discovered, it should be surgically removed as soon as possible.

Laparoscopic minimally invasive teratoma removal has advantages

Surgery is the first choice for treating teratoma. Traditional surgical methods generally require an incision of about 15 cm in the lower abdomen, and patients can usually be discharged from the hospital 7-10 days after surgery. Such laparotomy will cause physical pain and psychological fear to patients. Traditional laparotomy causes severe incision pain, slow recovery of gastrointestinal function, and the risk of intestinal adhesion. Some patients refuse surgery due to pain and fear. This is extremely unfavorable for the treatment of teratoma.