About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffGanglion cysts are often harmless and painless, requiring no treatment. In fact, in many cases, doctors recommend a watch-and-wait approach before exploring treatment options.
However, if the ganglion cyst is causing pain or it's interfering with joint movement, your doctor may recommend one of several treatment options.
Immobilization
Because activity can make the ganglion cyst grow larger, your doctor may recommend wearing a wrist brace or splint to immobilize the area. This helps your hand and wrist to rest, which may help shrink the cyst. As the cyst shrinks, it may release the pressure on your nerves, relieving pain.
Aspiration
In aspiration, your doctor drains the fluid from the cyst. To do so, your doctor applies a local anesthetic to the area above the cyst. Then, he or she punctures the cyst with a needle and removes the fluid from the base of the cyst with a syringe. Your doctor may recommend a steroid injection into the empty cyst after aspiration. This procedure can be done right in your doctor's office.
After aspiration, as many as 60 percent of ganglion cysts may recur. If the cyst recurs, aspiration can be repeated. However, in some cases your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the cyst.
Surgery
If you have significant pain or difficulty with joint movement, or if other treatments aren't working, your doctor may recommend surgery to remove the ganglion cyst.
In most cases, doctors perform the surgery on an outpatient basis, which means you'll go home the same day as the operation.
During surgery
- Typically, a local or regional anesthetic is used to numb the affected area.
- The surgeon then makes an incision in the skin overlying the ganglion cyst. The size of the incision depends on the size of the cyst.
- The surgeon removes the cyst and the stalk that attaches it to the joint or tendon, along with a small portion of the surrounding tissue in most cases.
- Then the surgeon will stitch and bandage the affected area.
After surgery
- Keep the affected limb elevated for up to 48 hours to help reduce swelling. You may experience discomfort, swelling and tenderness for two to six weeks.
- Your doctor may recommend analgesics, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn, others), for pain relief.
- Change your bandages (dressings) as directed.
- Depending on the location of the cyst, your doctor may recommend temporarily wearing a splint or brace to help minimize postoperative pain. In most cases, however, moving the affected area soon after surgery is recommended.
- As the incision heals, it's important to watch for signs of infection, including redness, swelling or discharge.
- Usually, physical therapy is not necessary after ganglion cyst removal. But if you have new problems with joint stiffness, therapy may help you regain strength in your hand, wrist or foot.
Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that a ganglion cyst won't recur, even after surgery. And as with all surgeries, there are risks to be considered. Though rare, injury to nerves, blood vessels or tendons may occur. These could result in weakness, numbness or restricted motion. Your doctor can help you decide the best treatment for you.
- Cassidy C, et al. Hand and wrist ganglia. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Soft tissue tumors. In: Townsend CM, et al. Sabiston Textbook of Surgery. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/204083196-3/1008522173/1565/724.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3675-3..50078-2--cesec50_4373. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Topper SM. Wrist arthroscopy. In: DeLee JC, et al. DeLee and Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=bookPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3143-7..00020-8--sc5&uniq=204083196&isbn=978-1-4160-3143-7&sid=1008522613. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Ganglion (cyst) of the wrist. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00006#Treatment. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Ganglia. The Merck Manuals: Home Edition for Patients and Caregivers. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec05/ch071/ch071b.html. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Zuzek RW, et al. Ganglia. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/201217051-3/0/2088/253.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05609-0..00016-2--sc0015_5192. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Amadio PC (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 25, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on