title: Arthroscopic versus open dorsal ganglion excision: a prospective, randomized comparison of rates of recurrence and of residual pain.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to compare the postoperative rates of ganglion recurrence between arthroscopic and open techniques of dorsal ganglion (DG) excision.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 72 patients had either arthroscopic or open excision of a primary, simple DG by 1 of 2 senior hand surgeons. Three prospective postoperative assessments were performed. The first examination was performed at 5 to 7 days, the second at 4 to 8 weeks, and the third assessment was performed at a minimum of 1 year after surgery. Percentages of ganglion recurrence at the second and third assessments were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-one patients had arthroscopic excision, and 31 patients had open excision. Baseline patient age, gender, and surgical side were similar between the 2 groups. Recurrence of the DG at the second postoperative assessment was 1 of 41 patients in the arthroscopic group and none in the open excision group, and, after a minimum of 12 months after excision, recurrence was 3 of 28 in the arthroscopic group and 2 of 23 in the open group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study compares the rates of ganglion recurrence between arthroscopic and open DG excision. Our results demonstrate that at 12 months follow-up, the rates of recurrence with arthroscopic DG excision are comparable with and not superior to those of open excision. Our results suggest that additional long-term comparative studies are needed to accurately differentiate the efficacy of open and arthroscopic techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Akelman
authors.forename: Arnold-Peter C
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001182:Arthroscopy; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D013581:Synovial Cyst / Q000601:surgery*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014953:Wrist