Although ovarian cysts may disappear naturally without treatment, ovarian cyst removal is recommended when cysts are large, solid, irregularly shaped, suspected of being cancerous, twisted, ruptured, and or causing severe pain. Development of a cancerous ovarian cyst increases with the woman's age, thus, it is more likely to be recommended for older patients to have cysts removed immediately.

Before removing an ovarian cyst, a physician will typically conduct a comprehensive physical exam with the patient. Along with the exam, they will also review the medications a patient is taking and order urine and blood tests. A CT scan and abdominal x-ray may also be conducted to confirm the presence of an ovarian cyst before surgical removal.

In order to remove an ovarian cyst, a doctor may choose to perform either laparoscopic surgery or open surgery, depending on the type of ovarian cyst that is removed. It is common to perform open surgery on larger cysts.

During laparoscopic surgery, a small tube conveniently called a laparoscope will be put into the body through a small incision in the lower part of the abdomen helping to find the ovarian cyst so the surgeon can then take steps towards it's removal.

When larger ovarian cyst removal surgery is required, general anesthesia might be used. Pain in the abdomen will generally be experienced after the surgery as well as possible complications such as bleeding and infection. Also, once removed there is a possibility that you will experience ovarian cysts in the future and in a few rare cases, blood clots and even infertility may happen.

Where a surgeon finds no sign of ovarian cancer during the procedure, it is not anticipated that the patient will experience complications. The patient should be fully recovered within several weeks. That said, if the doctors do find ovarian cancer, it may be necessary to remove either one or both ovaries while the surgery is going on or in a later surgical procedure. This would need to be combined with a treatment for ovarian cancer.

After the removal of an ovarian cyst, it is important to contact your doctor if you experience fever or chills, excessive pain or bleeding, shortness of breath, headaches, muscle aches, nausea, abdominal swelling, vomiting, or any other signs of ill health. An ovarian cyst removal, like all other surgeries, must be closely monitored post-surgery but should have no complications.