QUESTION: What is a "ganglion cyst"? A friend gave that label to a hard, pea sized lump I have developed in the wrist joint at the top of my left hand.
It is not painful unless knocked.
Are these cysts common? Can they turn cancerous? What is the best course of action for getting rid of one for good?
ANSWER: Your pea sized lump is one of the most common tumors of the hand.
It can arise from almost any tissue source, ligaments, tendon sheaths or joint capsules.
Yours is at the most common location, the dorsum of the hand, and fits well in the range of sizes, from but a few millimeters to 2 to 3 centimeters.
Though sometimes they feel quite hard, most often they have a soft or rubbery feel, and are filled with a clear, jelly-like fluid.
They never transform into a cancer of any type.
If you are not too inconvenienced and your ganglion has been around for but a short time, you might want to delay any treatment as sometimes this little balloon will disappear by itself. It can be aspirated to remove the liquid, and then injected with a corticosteroid, but that procedure provides no assurance that the the ganglion cyst will not return.
The most effective method of treatment, when the ganglion is symptomatic, is to eliminate it surgically, being most careful to remove it all including the stalk that attaches it to its origin.
This dissection may sometimes be performed under a local anesthetic.
A careful skin closure will leave but a tiny scar, which when healed will be barely visible.
An oft told tale is the biblical method of removal, slamming a bible down on the ganglion and rupturing it under the skin without using any surgical techniques.
Quaint, but not recommended, and certainly no guarantee against recurrence.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
