Ganglion Cyst Surgery

First of all we need to examine what a ganglion cyst is. This type of cyst is commonly found either on the back of the hand, the back of the wrist or on the front of the wrist, the fingers or less commonly on the foot, the ankle, the knee or rarely it can be found on the shoulder, the spine or even on the hip joints.

They can be quite painless depending on where they are. Those on the back of the hand or wrist are usually just totally pain free, but if they swell up too much they can be very awkward and restrict the movement of your joints. Though obviously on the knee or ankle, because these are weight bearing joints, they can be very sore, and if the ganglion cyst is connected too closely to a tendon, because these are the tissues that attach muscle and bone it can cause an overwhelming feeling of weakness. The ganglion cysts that can appear on the fingers can also cause pain as well as a deformity in the fingernail of the affected finger. If the ganglion cyst is on the shoulder, spine or hip joint the first thing you will notice is when it causes you pain.

They are usually lumps that are full of liquid, due to stress caused in the joints through stress, if something has fallen on the foot or hand, even through repetitive stress injury. As the joint has come under stress it will have become inflamed, with tissue forming around the joint. Then this tissue has begun to fill up with the lubricating liquid that lubricates a normally healthy joint.

Firstly, you will need to visit your doctor to get a diagnosis. Simple little painless lumps are usually nothing more than a cyst, but it could be something else, such as a bone spur or even a tumour, so the earlier you have a diagnosis the better. The doctor will most likely send you for an x-ray or some alternative type of medical test so that he can make an informed diagnosis rather than an educated guess

The most popular method for doctors to remove a ganglion cyst is to use the aspiration technique. This is where the fluid from inside the cyst is removed with the use of a needle being injected into the lump and any fluid being drawn out in that way. The doctor will sometimes follow this with an injection of steroids.

While these are easier methods for removing the cyst, the most effective, and sometimes, depending on where it is on the body the only way to remove the cyst is surgery. The surgeon will administer a local anaesthetic, then he will make a small incision in the skin close to the ganglion cyst and he will remove the sac, the liquid and most importantly, the stalk that the cyst is joined to. Also, if you suffer with recurring ganglion cysts, the only option left open to the doctors is to surgically remove it. Very often, if the stalk and the sac is removed as well as the liquid, this can stop it happening again.

Overall, it must be said that, very often, the cysts can re-appear in later life, but as they are not too serious, and certainly not life threatening, it should not worry you too much. The fact is that ganglion cysts are very common but technology has not, as yet, been able to find a permanent cure for such complaints.