Mysuru: A 24-year-old married woman, who was diagnosed with borderline ovarian tumour by ultrasound at an infertility clinic in Bengaluru prior to her marriage, had undergone a tumour removal surgery. A year later, she went to a fertility specialist as she was anxious to conceive.

In view of her previous biopsy report, she was advised to undergo surgery which required the removal of uterus and ovary. Patient and her family were distressed and consulted her gynaecologist in Mysuru who referred them to Dr. Nivedita Shetty, who heads the Reproductive Department at Columbia Asia Hospital here. Dr.Nivedita then counselled them and suggested the option of undergoing a surgery which would preserve her child bearing capacity. The fertility surgery was planned by Dr. Roopesh, Consultant Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Columbia Asia Hospital.

“The entire tumour was removed retaining a small part of the ovary. Two months later she underwent an IVF. Four eggs were collected and four embryos were obtained. Two embryos were transferred and two were frozen, resulting in a successful single term pregnancy. The patient is now eight months pregnant. The challenge with fertility preserving surgery is the removal and elimination of cancer cells and protects and preserves healthy ovarian tissues,” Dr. Nivedita Shetty.

Awareness and advances in cancer diagnosis have led to detection of cancer in early stages and has helped improve the long-term survival rates in some cases. 

The main concern in adolescent and young women is that their child bearing capacity can be seriously affected either due to the disease or due to the treatment of the disease like surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. It is of paramount importance in such cases to consider treatment approaches that include both cancer treatment and fertility preservation.