Dorsal wrist mass: the carpal boss.
The carpal boss is an osseous overgrowth that is occasionally mistaken for a ganglion cyst. This report highlights the case a 36-year-old patient who was originally diagnosed by his primary care physician with a ganglion cyst and was sent to an orthopaedist for aspiration. Upon further evaluation with a plain radiograph, the dorsal wrist mass was found to be a carpal boss. The patient was treated with rest and a wrist brace, and was informed that a corticosteroid injection or surgical excision would be necessary if conservative treatment failed. The patient was asymptomatic on follow-up and invasive procedures were not necessary.
Department of Sports/Emergency Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Blake
B
Boggess
David
D
Berkoff
D000328:Adult; D002348:Carpal Bones; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054850:Osteophyte / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D014953:Wrist