A woman says a 40cm cyst in her stomach left people thinking she was pregnant – but feels like "a new person" after 16 litres of fluid was drained from her stomach."

Siobhan Foster, 26, started suffering from "excruciating" stomach pain in March 2022 and tests revealed a 40cm cyst in April."

Siobhan was put on the waiting list for a surgery to remove the cyst - which was on the broad ligament - which contains the blood vessels to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and uterus.

She had to wait 11 months before she could undergo the procedure due to the NHS waiting list.

In that time her cyst grew to weigh two stone and a half - the same weight as a toddler - and made people think she was pregnant.

It left her struggling to walk and unable to continue working in childcare.

Siobhan had keyhole surgery in June 2023 at Nottingham City Hospital, Nottinghamshire, to drain 16 litres of fluid and says she lost two-and-half stone due to the size of the ligament fluid-filled cyst.

Now Siobhan feels "amazing" and says the four-and-a half hour operation was "life-changing"."

Siobhan, a child practitioner, from Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, said: "It was excruciating."

"I was very large, and I struggled with breathing. I struggled with eating."

"People were thinking – ‘she’s pregnant’."

"I was very self-conscious."

"I felt embarrassed."

"Sometimes I didn’t want to go out the house."

"The surgery has been life changing. It’s been the best thing."

"It’s like going to sleep and waking up three stone lighter."

"Now I tell myself – ‘you look amazing’."

Siobhan started getting abdominal pain while working as a childcare assistant and had an emergency appointment in March 2022.

Doctors told her it could be an ovarian cyst which a scan in April 2023 confirmed.

She said: "I found out it was very large at 40cm."

Siobhan had blood tests and an MRI in April 2023 to check the cyst wasn’t cancerous.

The results revealed it was benign and she was put on a waiting list to have the cyst removed.

For 11 months, Siobhan struggled with the size of the cyst so much she had to quit her job and would feel "embarrassed" and unable to leave the house due to how she looked."

She said: "It was a big lump in me."

Siobhan finally had her operation on June 7, 2023, at Nottingham City Hospital, Nottinghamshire, and had keyhole surgery to drain 16 litres of fluid from her.

Doctors discovered her cyst was a ligament cyst during the operation - not an ovarian cyst as they originally thought.

Siobhan said: "It was two-and-half stone they drained off me."

"The cyst was getting into a dangerous place – connecting to my kidney. It was a shock."

Siobhan stayed at the hospital for one night before she was able to return home to recover.

She said her stomach was tender, but she was back walking around after three weeks.

Siobhan was wearing a size 24 but is now in a size 18 post-surgery.

She said: "I feel more confident."

"I wear crop tops and dresses."

"I see myself rather than looking at a lump."

"I feel like a new person in a new body."