Septated Ovarian Cyst

A septated ovarian cyst is one that simply has a wall in it (septum means wall).  Here is an ultrasound:

septated ovarian cyst

Now, septation used to mean that you had to have surgery.  It used to be that doctors thought a septated ovarian cyst and cancer went together.  So they would remove the cyst to make sure it wasn’t cancer.

In the past year, the recommendation has changed to wait and see, as long as the cyst does not contain solid areas or papillary projections (little finger like extensions) on the ultrasound.

A lot of the time, these types of cysts will resolve on their own.  Often, endometriosis will cause endometriomas, which are often septated due to the dried blood inside.  These can go away if the endometriosis is brought under control.  Sometimes, they even dissolve on their own without any outward intervention.  At least, that is what a recent study showed.  You can read more about that here.

Ultrasound from Oncology News International.

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