Ruptured Ovarian Cyst

Ovarian cyst is a fluid filled sac that is found inside the ovaries and is common in women who are in their reproductive age. Ovarian cysts are formed in the ovaries when ovulation does not take place properly. Before the time of ovulation, a follicle is formed in the ovaries which is responsible for the production of estrogen and progesterone. When the ovaries release an egg, this follicle ruptures and becomes the corpus lutenus. However, if ovulation does not occur, the follicle grows bigger in size and becomes an ovarian cyst. The ovarian cyst formed due to lack of ovulation is called functional cyst which is not harmful and goes away on its own, without any kind of treatment. However, sometimes the cyst becomes so big in size that it weakens the wall of the ovaries, thus causing rupturing of the cyst. This condition has to be taken seriously as it may give rise to various complications.

Symptoms
Usually ovarian cysts are asymptomatic and therefore, most women do not even realize that they have the problem of cysts, before they have been diagnosed for it during a routine pelvic examination. However, there are some women who may experience slight pain even with a harmless ovarian cyst. Nevertheless, when the cyst gets ruptured, most women will experience certain symptoms which are as follows.

• The most common symptom is severe pelvic pain. Though one may experience this with a regular ovarian cyst, the intensity of the pain may increase when the cyst gets ruptured. The pain is typically constant and very dull.
• Along with pelvic pain, another symptom of ruptured ovarian symptom is experiencing pain during or after sexual intercourse. Other than that, some people are also likely to experience pain while performing daily activities like bending, lifting and even while defecating.
• Another sign is having irregular menstrual periods. The changes in menstruation will be different for each person. Some may experience longer periods, whereas for some it maybe shorter than their normal ones. In the same way, while some women may experience heavy bleeding, others may experience light spotting. This will be accompanied by severe pain in the abdomen, before as well during menstruation.
• If internal bleeding has been caused because of ovarian cyst rupture, one may experience symptoms like fever, weakness, vomiting, nausea, fainting, dizziness, etc. Low blood pressure also indicates the occurrence of this condition.

Complications
This condition is considered as serious, since it can give rise to a great number of complications. If not treated at the correct time, it can prove life-threatening for the person. One of the major complications include twisting of the ovary which is also called torsion. When this occurs, the blood supply to the ovaries get restricted which leads to the death of the ovarian tissue. This further causes the problem of permanent infertility. Scarring of the ovaries may also occur due to rupture of the ovarian cysts which may prevent the ovaries from releasing the ovum, thus causing infertility.

When the cyst ruptures, the fluid present in it flows into the ovary and sometimes into the abdominal cavity which may cause hemorrhagic ovarian cysts. Another complication that is attached to the leakage of the cystic fluid into the abdominal cavity is peritonitis. This is an inflammation or infection of the mucous membrane which surrounds the abdominal cavity and the organs present inside.

Treatment
Though complications can be very dangerous, one must remember that they are not common. In other words, not all women who experience ovarian cyst rupture may have to face these complications. However, it is important to undergo necessary treatment measures to recover from this problem as soon as possible.

Though it is necessary to understand the root cause of ovarian cyst rupture for the treatment to be effective, if the patient is taken to the hospital in an emergency condition, the most important thing the doctors will do is to try to stabilize the condition of the patient. This is done by starting the IV as well as assessing the patient's breathing, circulation and airway. Antibiotics will be given to the patient, even without the occurrence of any kind of complications due to the rupture of the ovarian cyst. Premenopausal women may be given oral contraceptives to stop ovulation during the treatment process. When the patient's condition becomes stable, the physician may conduct several tests to know the cause of the problem. A surgery is the only solution, in case of severe complications. The recovery time will depend on the severity of the condition and also the type of treatment that was administered.

Most of the time, we cannot do anything about the formation of cysts in the ovaries and hence, there are actually no precautionary measures regarding it. However, undergoing pelvic examinations regularly can ensure that you are aware of the problem of ovarian cysts and treatment can be given to prevent it from rupturing.