I had mine drained 3 times and it always came back. From what the doc told me and everything i've read, draining them usually doesn't work. Mine did disappear and then reappear a couple of times before I decided to have surgery for it.

Which side of the wrist was your ganglion on? How long ago did you have the operation and are you happy with the result?

I have a large ganglion on the inside (volar surface) of my left wrist, which i've had drained twice unsuccessfully. The second time, steroids were injected.

When it first appeared about 10 years ago, it was relatively small and would shrink after a few days rest. Now it's much larger and seems permanent.

I'm considering surgery but am worried about the risks of nerve damage and joint stiffness, which are apparently greater for volar ganglions. I've also read that volar ganglions have a recurrence rate of up to a 40%.

A key question is how much the skill of the surgeon relates these risks.

I'd also like to know whether arthroscopy is available for volar ganglions. I've only heard of this technique for ganglions on the outside of the wrist.

My cyst was on the top of my wrist. I believe they called it a "dorsal" ganglion. I had the surgery on aug. 22, and so far, i'm sorry to say, I am not happy with the result. I now have a "knot" of scar tissue, that's probably a little bigger than the cyst itself was. I asked my doc if I just traded in one probelm for another, and she said no. She said the scar tissue would flatten out over time, and physical therapy would speed up the process. I am a guitar player, and this is definitely hindering me in my work.


Maybe I should've gone the arthroscopic route, I don't know.

Thanks for the link, I hadn't seen this site before.


I think your surgeon is right. Scars can continue to improve over months or even years. If the scar settles down, you don't have any joint stiffness and the ganglion doesn't recur, it sounds like you could have a good result.


I too am a guitar player, having played classical guitar for 25 years. Guitar was my life. Unfortunately, due to the ganglion I can't play anymore. This, plus the fact that the ganglion has grown grotesquely large, I find quite upsetting.


Unfortunately, i'm locked into a job which puts strain on my hands, so rather than being able to give it a chance to settle, I may yet make it even worse.

I couldn't get the link to work.

Sorry to hear that you can't play guitar anymore. I've been playing for about 22 years myself, and i've had hand problems with carpal tunnel, and now the ganglion. It's very frustrating. I hope you're right about the scar tissue. If I can get rid of that, it would be a success.

Here's a couple of things that have helped my hands:

1. Chiropractic adjustments- I go to a chiro that is certified for extremity adjustments. He adjusts my neck, spine, elbows, and wrists. Sometimes the relief is instant, other times it takes a few more treatments or a little more time.

2. Hot water soaks- makes my wrist feel a little looser.

3. I try to keep massaging the cyst, to try to keep it somewhat pliable.

4. I do plenty of exercises and stretches. The more I let my wrist sit idle, the stiffer it was.

I don't know if any of those things will help you. I guess our sitiations are a little different from one another. I'll see what info I can dig up on volar ganglions, and arthroscopic procedures.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've found the link to be sporadic when i've gone to revisit the page, so keep checking. It has some very comprehensive info and is worth the effort.

Funny that you mention carpal tunnel syndrome. I have this as well as tendonitis. From what i've read, it's common for conditions such as these to be interrelated.

I think you're right about the holistic approach, this is something I need to pursue more. A few years ago, I went to a musculoskeletal acupuncturist for the tendonitis and this definitely helped.

I can't massage my ganglion too much as this irritates the radial nerve. Soaking sounds good though, i'll give this a try. Perhaps keeping the ganglion pliable will increase the chance of its contents being re-absorbed.

Currently, I don't consider surgery an option. The chance of an adverse outcome for volar ganglions it just too high.

I have had multiple ganglion cysts. I get them in my fingers at the base of my finger where they meet the palm. I have had them aspirated and I have had 3 surgically removed. Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't. The firsts ones I had surgically removed never came back (10 yrs). The last one seems to have come back after 2 years. For those of you wanting to know about recurrence..... There's just no telling. I was wondering if anyone has had multiple cysts like me. I am now on my 7th (if you count each one as new). I think it's the 3rd or 4th finger. Anyone know anything about why some people just keep getting them? I don't do anything out of the ordinary with my hands so it's not an injury or anything.

I have the exact same problem as danocaster. Im a guitar player, had surgery october 20, im doing physical therapy and the scar tissue isnt going away anywhere fast, and I need to play the guitar, but after a mere 10 minutes of playing it hurts again, and its a weird pinching type of hurt....Let me know if you guys found any good methods of pain relief or scar tissue healing.

Hi,

i had surgery for removing my wrist ganglion 3 weeks ago. I didn't even try to have it aspirated, since the doctor didn't recommend it. He tried to blow it by pressure, but failed. I now have in my left hand a swelling of 1-2 cm wide near the scar, and I can't get my hand do all the movements in the maximum angles like the right hand. I began physyotherapy, and I was told it will help to the swelling and the movement and I am still optimistic. I was also told that probably the dynamic movements (guitar keyboard (i write a lot at work)) caused it, and not static positions like arms exercise ( I don't know how to say it in english).

I am playing the guitar some years now (but not proffesional), and now I can't play with no pain. I don't know if this pain is ok and will go away or will cause me damage (ganglion will return...). I do some hands exercise (twisting them together) before playing.

I hope it will be ok for all of us,

zohar