European Journal of Gynaecological Oncology (EJGO) is published by IMR Press from Volume 40 Issue 1 (2019). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with S.O.G.
Adnexal masses in pregnancy: a review of eight cases undergoing surgical management
Objective: Our purpose was to determine maternal and foetal outcome in patients undergoing surgery for a pelvic mass in pregnancy, Study design: Maternal and foetal records (outcomes) of eight cases of adnexal masses associated with intrauterine pregnancy that required laparotomy or aspiration or that were diagnosed incidentally at the time of caesarean section were reviewed, The review was performed on patients who were seen with an adnexal mass in pregnancy from January 1994 to February 2001. We included patients with simple or complex masses ≥6 cm that were persistent on ultrasonographic evaluation and patients with adnexal masses with complications (torsion, haemorrhage). We excluded cysts that spontaneously resolved by 16 weeks’ gestation. Results: Eight patients of 16,472 deliveries were identified with adnexal masses that satisfied the above criteria. Six patients underwent laparotomy in the first and/or the second trimester of pregnancy. In two of them emergency Japarotomy were done due to torsion or haemorrhage as a complication of the adnexal masses. In all patients benign ovarian tumors were found. Two patients underwent transvaginal aspiration of simplex cysts due to subtorsion in the first trimester of gestation (negative results on cytological study). All of these eight patients had term deliveries. Two patients, due to obstetrical reasons, underwent caesarean section. Conclusion: The incidence of an adnexal mass during pregnancy in our population is consistent with what has been reported in the literature. We emphasize that transvaginal aspiration and drainage of symptomatic simplex cysts in the first trimester and percutaneous cysts in the second trimester can avert laparotomy. Our data support a randomised clinical study to determine optimal management of an adnexal mass in pregnancy.