Ganglion or synovial cyst

Ganglion cysts (or cystic tumors) are the most common benign formations of the hand.

Clinical picture

They frequently occur in the joints of the hand and wrist. The most common place is the back of the wrist, the palm of the hand and the fingers.

They are circular in shape, can be soft or hard, and are filled with transparent gelatinous liquid.

The cause is attributed to inflammatory processes of the joints (arthritis) and tendons (tendinitis). Cysts closer to the fingertips are usually associated with an arthritic bone spur. They may or may not be painful. On some occasions they can cause difficulties in joint mobility, nerve compressions and local inflammatory processes.

Their size may increase and sometimes they disappear spontaneously.

Treatment

An aspiration puncture can be performed with a syringe and needle to remove the fluid from the cyst and decompress it. This procedure is effective only in 10% of patients, in the remaining 90% there is recurrence after a while.

Surgery is indicated when the Ganglion is very large, painful or minimally invasive treatments have failed.

The surgery involves cyst removal along with a part of the joint capsule or tendon sheath. It is not free of complications and does not ensure that the lymph node does not recur.

Dr. Ricardo Hoogstra performs a perforation in the small and medium-sized lymph nodes with laser technology, through which he drains the gelatinous content of the lymph node and immediately places a compression splint that the patient must wear for 20 days following the treatment.

The advantages of this treatment are that no needles or sharp objects are used, the light energy of the laser makes a minimal perforation, which allows the drainage of the content, which closes by itself.

If the patient performs adequate immobilization and tries to avoid the activities that led to inflammation of the joint, the healing rate is high.