GynoFiles

Dermoid Cyst of the Ovary (Benign Cystic Teratoma) Most ovarian cysts come and go. In fact most ovarian cysts never make it to the attention of your health care provider. However, those ovarian cysts that are present on a serial set of ultrasounds become signficantly less likely to ever resolve without your gynecologist intervening. Persistent pelvic masses are not always ovarian cancers, in fact many will be the non-cancerous dermoid cyst shown in this picture.In a review of a study of ovarian masses seen on ultrasound in women over 50 a new study reported in the AJOG in November 2015 has shown that watching and repeating the ultrasound actually did better at determining if an ovarian mass was really cancerous. In this study patients were watched over 3 years. In the past it was thought that a mass of stable size over 6 months would not be a cancer. The theory was that ovarian masses either are cancerous or not cancerous and that masses that are not cancerous cannot evolve into a...

Women and their obstetricians have been re-discussing how much alcohol is safe in pregnancy. ACOG says no amount of alcohol is safe in pregnancy, if we are talking about avoiding fetal alcohol syndrome. Most gynos have said that such a restrictive policy isn't really backed up by research and small amounts are unlikely to cause harm. Now  primary care physicians for women, who have been advocates for some alcohol for benefits like heart protection,  may be telling all their patients that 'no amount of alcohol is safe' for them as well. The 2014 World Cancer Report (WCR), issued by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has now backed the restrictive policy due to the finding that there are very strong links between many cancers and the consumption of alcohol. Actually in 1988 this group declared alcohol a carcinogen, so this view has just been strengthened, not just newly created. Gynos help their patients develop overall hea...

Right fallopian tube getting a laparoscopic cautery sterilization A healthy left fallopian tube undergoing laparoscopic sterilization, the instrument is holding the tube, the white blanch is the tube being heated so that it will seal closed, and a  normal left ovary is shown next to the tube Once you've make the decision not to have more children using some type of long term contraception definitely simplifies life. For many women, once they have had their children, they still want to retain fertility, so that the Implanon (now they have updated, and most of us use Nexplanon ) device or Intrauterine devices Mirena and ParaGard are good choices as they last for many years and can successfully prevent pregnancy a high percentage of the time. For others however, if you are sure you do not want children then tubal sterilization is the solution.For most women getting the Essure procedure is going to be a better choice than the old fashioned surgeries shown here. At Women...