If you’re squeamish, look away now.
A woman shared her harrowing experience with a dermoid cyst – a nightmarish clump capable of growing teeth, hair, skin, and even brain tissue. The terrifying discovery came about during a pelvic ultrasound, initially intended to investigate an unidentified mass in her body.
“I’m like, I hope this is not a baby because I do not want a kid right now,” she said in the clip re-shared by Dr Myro Figuara (@doctormyro).
“It’s not a baby, it’s actually something way worse than a baby. She looks me in the eyes and tells me that I have a 7cm chicken egg-sized cyst called a ‘dermoid cyst’.”
In essence, dermoid cysts are pockets of tissue that can form beneath the skin, sometimes present from birth, according to the Cleveland Clinic. These peculiar growths can occur anywhere – whether this be the head, spine, ovaries or neck.
Dr Figuara, a California-based doctor, weighed in on the alarming footage, explaining: “These are tumours of reproductive cells which means they can grow into any tissue in your body, including teeth and hair.
“And they can be present since birth, they usually don’t cause any symptoms, so you might not even know that’s it there. And, yeah, men can get them too in their testicles.”
While symptoms are rare, they may include nausea, vomiting, constipation and perhaps a change in appetite in some cases.
Scientists aren’t exactly sure what causes them and there’s no way of reducing your risk of getting one, but there is some good news.
Despite their menacing appearance, these clumps are non-cancerous, often harmless and removable with surgery.
Some doctors recommend this especially when the cyst has grown to a size greater than 5cm in diameter. Larger dermoid cysts are more likely to cause complications such as infections or ovarian torsion.
However, the prospect of these ghastly clumps caused quite the stir online, garnering more than 15,000 comments. In response to the woman’s ultrasound confession, one person wrote: “I wish I never learned this,” as another chimed in: “New fear unlocked.”
Meanwhile someone confessed: “I wish I could go back to five minutes ago when I didn’t know about this.”
