Giant cystic teratoma of the ovary – a case report

A case of a giant mature cystic teratoma of the ovary in a 19-year-old nulliparous girl is reported. She was first suspected to have a liver pathology with gross ascites until ultrasound scan showed a multicystic ovarian tumour. There were no constitutional symptoms. Laparotomy and oophorectomy yielded satisfactory results. Histology confirmed a benign cystic teratoma of the ovary. This case demonstrates that dermoid cysts can grow to enormous sizes weighing over 20kg and should be considered whenever gross abdominal distension is seen in women of reproductive age. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of cystic teratomas of such massive size. Keywords: ovary, cystic teratoma, oophorectomy Journal of Medicine in the Tropics Vol. 7(2) 2005: 32-3