Filly's 2nd Law
“Simple cysts,” found almost anywhere in the human body,
are inconsequential..
“Simple cysts,” found almost anywhere in the human body, are inconsequential. While I do not object to the use of the term “simple cyst,” I do suggest that sonologists instead employ the phrase “unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cyst.”
The latter is fully descriptive and leaves no doubt about the type of structure on which you are opining. Simple cysts are common throughout the abdomen with the kidneys and ovaries being especially at risk.
Pathologically, unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cysts are most often non-neoplastic, especially when found in the kidneys. In the ovaries they may be either non-neoplastic or neoplastic. However, when they are neoplastic they are almost universally benign.
We all hear about cystic hypernephromas. I looked for one that resembled a benign renal cyst for 41 years. That wasn’t long enough. I never found one to use as an example. When I would lecture about sonography of the kidney I would invariably ask the audience if anyone had encountered a renal cell carcinoma that resembled a benign renal cyst. No one ever raised their hand.
When you encounter a unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cyst in the ovary, there are several useful things to remember. First is the “six centimeter rule.” Seventy percent of excised ovarian neoplasms are 6 centimeters or larger when excised. The second is that any unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cyst measuring 2.5 cm. or less in the ovary is almost certainly physiologic in a premenopausal woman. And the third is that the overwhelming number of unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cysts in the ovary that measure between 2.5 and 6 cm. will disappear.
Even unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cysts in the human brain are unlikely to cause a problem provided they are not large enough to create increased pressure in the enclosed space of the skull
are inconsequential..
“Simple cysts,” found almost anywhere in the human body, are inconsequential. While I do not object to the use of the term “simple cyst,” I do suggest that sonologists instead employ the phrase “unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cyst.”
The latter is fully descriptive and leaves no doubt about the type of structure on which you are opining. Simple cysts are common throughout the abdomen with the kidneys and ovaries being especially at risk.
Pathologically, unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cysts are most often non-neoplastic, especially when found in the kidneys. In the ovaries they may be either non-neoplastic or neoplastic. However, when they are neoplastic they are almost universally benign.
We all hear about cystic hypernephromas. I looked for one that resembled a benign renal cyst for 41 years. That wasn’t long enough. I never found one to use as an example. When I would lecture about sonography of the kidney I would invariably ask the audience if anyone had encountered a renal cell carcinoma that resembled a benign renal cyst. No one ever raised their hand.
When you encounter a unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cyst in the ovary, there are several useful things to remember. First is the “six centimeter rule.” Seventy percent of excised ovarian neoplasms are 6 centimeters or larger when excised. The second is that any unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cyst measuring 2.5 cm. or less in the ovary is almost certainly physiologic in a premenopausal woman. And the third is that the overwhelming number of unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cysts in the ovary that measure between 2.5 and 6 cm. will disappear.
Even unilocular, thin-walled, anechoic cysts in the human brain are unlikely to cause a problem provided they are not large enough to create increased pressure in the enclosed space of the skull