title: The natural history of untreated dorsal wrist ganglia and patient reported outcome 6 years after intervention.
abstract: We have evaluated the long-term outcome of excision, aspiration and no treatment of dorsal wrist ganglia prospectively in 236 (83%) of 283 patients who responded to a postal questionnaire at a mean of 70 months. The resolution of symptoms was similar between the treatment groups (p>0.3). Pain and unsightliness improved in all three treatment groups. The prevalence of weakness and stiffness altered only slightly in all three treatment groups. More patients with a recurrent, or persistent ganglion complained of pain, stiffness and unsightliness (p<0.0001). Patient satisfaction was higher after surgical excision (p<0.0001), even if the ganglion recurred. Twenty-three of 55 (58%) untreated ganglia resolved spontaneously. The recurrence rate was 58% (45/78) and 39% (40/103) following aspiration and excision, respectively. Eight out of 103 patients had complications following surgery. In this study, neither excision nor aspiration provided significant long-term benefit over no treatment.
authors.affiliation: Glenfield Hospital, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester, UK. joseph.dias@uhl-tr.nhs.uk
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dhukaram
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000041:Absenteeism; D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D045888:Ganglion Cysts / Q000601:surgery*; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D013396:Suction; D014953:Wrist / Q000601:surgery*