Efficacy of aspiration and steroid injection in treatment of ganglion cyst

Background: there are several types of treatment modalities for wrist ganglions including both surgical and non surgical methods. the aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of cyst aspiration and methyl prednisolone acetate injection. aim: to determine the efficacy of aspiration and steroid injection in treatment of ganglion cyst. methods: this prospective study was carried out at department of general surgery,lady reading hospital,peshawar from august 2014 to july 2015. thirty patients having wrist ganglions were seen and treated .the aspiration was carried out under sterile technique,area infiltrated with 1% lignocaine,followed by aspiration of ganglion content using 16 g needle and injection of methyl-prednisolone acetate bp 40 mg/ml. the patients were advised to carry out their normal activities and follow up was done at 6 weeks,3 months and 6 month results: out of total 30 patients 21(70%) were female and 9(30%) were male patients. the mean age of the patient was 23±9.21 with age range of 15-55. the patients were followed up for a period of one year,out of total 30 patients (17) 56.7% patients had no recurrence while (13) 43.3% patients had recurrent ganglion cyst. conclusion: it is concluded that aspiration with steroid injection can be a useful alternative in treating ganglion wrist. as most of the patients were young female and the purpose of treatment was mainly on cosmetic grounds so in comparison with surgical excision which gave a bigger scar to the patient,the aspiration and steroid injection is a useful alternative.