What is corpus luteum cyst
After a woman ovulates, a yellowish body of cells is formed on the ovary. This is called the corpus luteum. It disappears 14 days after it is formed, during the woman's next period. It produces the estrogen and progesterone hormones. When the woman conceives, the corpus luteum does not disappear because there has been no menstruation. The corpus luteum is sustained by the hCG hormone (generated by cells that form the placenta) during pregnancy. The corpus luteum becomes necessary in a pregnancy because it grows to support and nourish the new pregnancy until the placenta takes over.
Are corpus luteum cysts dangerous
Normally, the corpus luteum shrinks in about 6-7 weeks and stops functioning by the 10th week. But in about 1 out of every 10 cases, the corpus luteum fails to regress and becomes a cyst. This normally does not pose much of a problem, but your doctor would need to monitor it. If the cyst becomes huge or is about to rupture, then it would have to be surgically removed.
