A woman who had given birth, but whose stomach was not deflating, took several months to find the reason for her suffering: she had a 9-kilo ovarian cyst.
- A 27-year-old woman had an ovarian cyst for several months that caused her stomach to swell.
- Doctors failed to diagnose the ovarian cyst.
- On her own, she had a scanner and an ultrasound: she had an ovarian cyst that weighed 9 kilograms.
“People constantly took me for a pregnant woman, explains Kenya Smith in remarks relayed by the New York Post. I’ve probably been asked over 50 times when I’m due or if I’m having a boy or a girl.“In March 2022, this 27-year-old woman gave birth to her third child. However, several weeks later, her belly had shrunk a little but had not returned to normal. Even after resuming the sport, she seemed to continue to put on weight.
Ovarian cyst: no diagnosis after 5 doctors consulted
As the belly swelled, the troubles became more important. Kenya Smith could barely sleep due to abdominal discomfort and difficulty breathing. She also suffered from chronic constipation and she felt so constantly bloated that she could not eat properly.
To try to understand where the problem came from, she consulted five different specialists: an obstetrician, a specialist in the pelvic floor (the muscles that extend from the pubis to the coccyx), an allergist, a naturopath and a gastro. -enterologist. None of these practitioners managed to diagnose the young mother’s symptoms.
Kenya Smith has therefore multiplied the research on the Internet to have an answer. One day, on social networks, she discovered the story of a woman with the same symptoms as her. She suffered from fibromaa benign tumor that grows in the muscle of the uterus.
“I thought to myself: Oh my God, this looks like my stomach”, says the American, who therefore decided to have a scanner and an ultrasound as soon as possible. Result: she had a huge cyst in the right ovary.
A 9 kg and 30 cm ovarian cyst discovered
Ovarian cysts are abnormal growths that contain fluid. According to’Health Insurance, 5-7% of women develop an ovarian cyst in their lifetime. In some cases, the ovarian cyst may remain asymptomatic, but in others it may cause pain in the lower abdomen, intestinal or urinary disorders, abnormalities in menstruation. For the most serious complications (torsion of the ovary, compression of the organs of the small pelvis, etc.), surgical intervention is necessary.
Kenya Smith was therefore operated on in November 2022. The cyst that was removed weighed just over 9 kilograms and measured approximately 30 centimeters. “I was in so much pain and was so miserable in the end, she confides. I couldn’t eat anything because there was no more room. This operation saved my life. Without this, [le kyste] would have continued to grow and crushed my lungs. When it started crushing my ribs, it hurt so much. Physically it was tough, but mentally I think it was worse. I felt like my body was foreign. I couldn’t convince the doctors to understand it, that was the most frustrating part.”
Since she was cured, the young mother regularly publishes videos on her TikTok account to make ovarian cysts better known… And to prevent other women, like her, from being on medical wanderings for many months.
@kenyaksmith Timeline of my stomach and how fast it grew! If you would like to hear the whole story it’s a few videos down. I’m in a red top and there are 4 parts to the crazy story! #fyp #ovariancyst #ovariancystawareness #ovariancysts #health #crazystory #storytime #greenscreen ♬ original sound – Kenya Smith
