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Photograph of the left ovary and a large translucent left ovarian cyst that has persisted (on serial ultrasound examination) for several months. A laparoscopic instrument that contains a bag can be used to contain the cyst and its contents during removal (to avoid spillage of such tissue), as seen here.
The mere presence of a persistent nonfunctional ovarian (or peritoneal) cyst within the pelvis has not been routinely described as a cause of subfertility, but may indeed be an important cause of otherwise unexplained infertility. In this case (and anecdotally in other similar situations) the patient became pregnant almost immediately following removal of this persistent ovarian cyst. The nature (or mechanism) of the association between such “abnormal findings” in the pelvis and fertility is not clearly established but may involve local inflammation, mechanical pressure on the ovary and fallopian tube, or production of substances that interfere with ovulation or fertilization.
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