Ovarian tumours are normally asymptomatic, although they can develop to be quite large before being palpated and causing symptoms. The most common consequences are intraacystic bleeding, rupture or leaking, and torsion; infection, necrosis, fistula, and hernia are uncommon. Complications can occur at any age, including while the baby is still in the womb. This article will review haemorrhage in the cystic portion, haemorrhage in the solid portion, and paraneoplastic syndromes, which are covered in depth in other chapters; instead, it will concentrate on more serious complications, such as leakage (or rupture), torsion, necrosis, infection, fistula, and hernia.
