What happens if a ruptured chocolate cyst is not treated?
Recently, during a medical checkup, I found out that my chocolate cyst has ruptured. I would like to ask, what would happen if it is left untreated?
Doctor's answer (1)
Chocolate cyst, medically termed as endometriotic cyst, forms when endometrial tissue abnormally grows inside the ovary. When a chocolate cyst ruptures, the blood and endometrial tissue inside the cyst may leak into the abdominal cavity, causing a series of symptoms and complications.
A ruptured chocolate cyst can cause acute abdominal pain, typically characterized as severe and sudden onset, often accompanied by symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Moreover, the spilled cyst contents can irritate the peritoneum and potentially trigger pelvic inflammatory disease, presenting as signs of infection including fever and abdominal tenderness. If not treated promptly, accumulated blood in the pelvis and abdominal cavity after cyst rupture may lead to pelvic adhesions, increasing the difficulty of treatment.
At the same time, the old accumulated blood released after rupture can stimulate nerves, causing severe abdominal pain, and may be accompanied by gastrointestinal irritation symptoms. The ruptured cyst may also lead to implantation of the displaced endometrial tissue in the pelvic cavity, worsening dysmenorrhea and potentially causing infertility.
More seriously, rupture may cause damage to local blood vessels, leading to significant pelvic hemorrhage and presenting with signs of hypovolemic shock such as decreased blood pressure, increased heart rate, and potentially threatening life.
