Teratoma is an ovarian tumor and is a chromosomal disease. It develops from embryonic cells, which are able to degenerate into any tissue of the human body.
Types of ovarian teratoma
According to their histological composition, the following species are distinguished:
- mature ovarian teratoma;
- immature teratoma.
Mature teratoma is benign, often large in size, has a smooth surface, includes several cysts, which are often painted gray-yellow. 20% of ovarian tumors in women of childbearing age is represented by a mature form of teratoma. Rarely can occur in the postmenopausal period.
Immature teratoma is malignant and is often accompanied by metastases. Usually has an irregular shape, unevenly dense, bumpy. The lifetime of patients with immature teratoma rarely exceeds two years.
Ovarian Teratoma: Symptoms and Causes
As a rule, a woman suffering from a teratoma of the ovaries rarely complains of any special sensations in the body. Painful signals of a teratoma does not cause or worsen the general condition of the body. Therefore, it can be difficult to initially diagnose its presence due to the lack of specific symptoms. In rare cases, a woman may feel a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen. However, this feeling can often be confused with premenstrual pain. Care should be taken to your body, since the sudden appearance of pain without apparent causes may indicate an increase in the teratoma or its malignant degeneration.
Diagnosis of teratoma
To establish an accurate diagnosis and determine the direction of treatment, it is necessary to conduct a number of clinical procedures:
- two-hand gynecological examination;
- Ultrasound examination using the CDC method (color Doppler mapping), which allows to evaluate the nature and speed of blood flow;
- laparoscopy;
- X-ray computed tomography.
To clarify the diagnosis, it is also possible to apply the echography.
Teratoma of the ovary: treatment and prognosis
Treatment with teratomas can only be by surgery. Before performing an operation to remove the ovarian teratoma, additional factors must be considered:
- the age of the patient;
- features of the course of the disease;
- the presence of chronic diseases.
If a teratoma is found in a girl or a young nulliparous woman, the laparoscopy method with the use of resection of the affected ovary is predominantly used. Women at an older age (during the postmenopause) completely remove the uterus along with the appendages.
In case of its combination with germinogennoy tumor or with its malignant transformation, in addition to surgical removal of the tumor, a course of radiotherapy and the use of special antitumor drugs are prescribed.
To eliminate the formation of metastases after the treatment course, lymph nodes are additionally examined.
The forecast of treatment success is determined by the following indicators:
- severity of teratoma;
- histological structure;
- Place of localization;
- time of the beginning of treatment.
The presence of a mature teratoma has the most favorable prognosis. A timely study of histology allows you to begin treatment as early as possible, which increases the patient's chances of recovery.
It should be remembered that the ovarian cyst, the teratoma will not resolve by itself, if it is not treated. But at the same time, precious time can be lost that can be directed to successful treatment. As a rule, after the operation for the removal of teratoma and complex therapy for restoring health, there are no relapses.