Ganglia of the hand and wrist are common benign lesions. Ganglia less commonly present at the foot and ankle. They most frequently arise adjacent to joints and tendons but may also be intratendinous or intraosseous.

Seed (pulley) Ganglia are ganglia from tendons that often occur at the base of fingers on the palmar side.

Digital mucoid (myxoid) cysts typically occur at the distal interphalangeal joints and can be associated with osteoarthritic joints. They can intermittently become inflamed but are rarely truly infected.

Ganglia and Mucoid (Myxoid) Cysts may be cosmetically noticeable (the latter can also cause disruption of nail growth). They can sometimes be painful or cause limitation of function.

Differential Diagnoses

Referrers should be aware that certain pathologies do not turn out to be ganglia but can present in a similar way. The following conditions fall into this category:-

• Osteoarthritic changes in a joint
• Gouty tophi, rheumatoid nodules or synovitis
• Giant cell tumours
• Lipomas and other benign lesions
• Plantar fibromas
• Malignancy (rare): see red flag section for more information regarding 2ww criteria.

The majority of ganglia occur in the upper limbs. For lower limbs in particular, diagnostic uncertainty should prompt consideration of further imaging.

Soft tissue sarcomas are rare and account for approximately 1% of all malignant tumours. The age standardised incidence rate for soft tissue sarcoma for England is 44.9 cases per 1million population. This equates to 53 new cases per year in Devon.

Signs and symptoms:

If aspiration of the lesion has not been possible (usually ganglia exude a thick clear gel when aspirated with a wide gauge needle under local anaesthetic) this should prompt the possibility of the lesion being a solid tumour.

The 2ww criteria for referral to the liposarcoma service include ANY of the following:

• Significant persistent pain that is not solely pressure related
• Rapid growth over a short period of time
• Deep fixity to muscle or fascia (the mass becomes less obvious on muscle contraction0
• Prior malignancy (other than Basal Cell Carcinoma)

In primary care, ultrasonography can be useful to evaluate superficial lumps of diagnostic uncertainty especially if examination findings are equivocal. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends urgent ultrasonography for all unexplained lumps increasing in size (NICE; NG12 1.11.4).

Aspiration of a thick clear gel from a suspected ganglion can help confirm diagnosis.

Most ganglia can be managed in primary care. Patients can be reassured that approximately 60% of ganglia resolve spontaneously therefore a simple watch and wait approach is often appropriate.

Options for primary care management include:

• Simple splint immobilization for upper limb ganglia
• Analgesia
• Aspiration or lancing with sterile wide gauge needle under local anaesthetic - may need repeated treatments.
• Steroid injections *

Ganglia frequently recur, but this is also true following surgical treatments.

Notes:

For ganglia of the wrist and hand, the cure rate following aspiration increases with 3 week splinting post procedure.

*Steroid injections work best for preventing recurrence in volar retinacular (flexor tendon sheath) ganglia when combined with transverse massage but should be avoided for volar radial ganglia due to the proximity of the radial artery.

Referral Criteria

Surgery for removal of a ganglion cyst will be routinely commissioned only in the following circumstances:

Wrist ganglia

• Treatment for a ganglion cyst will be routinely commissioned only if it is causing pain, tingling or numbness
• Initial treatment is by aspiration
• Surgical excision of a ganglion cyst will be routinely commissioned only if aspiration fails to resolve the tingling, numbness or significant pain and there is significant functional impairment*

Seed ganglia

• Treatment for seed ganglia will be routinely commissioned only if they are painful
• Initial treatment is to puncture/aspirate the ganglion
• Surgical excision will be routinely commissioned only if a ganglion persists or recurs after puncture/aspiration

Mucoid (Myxoid) Cysts at distal interphalangeal joint (DIP)

• Surgery will be routinely commissioned only if a Mucoid (Myxoid) Cyst is causing significant functional impairment* or pain, or there are cysts that discharge

Lower limb ganglion cyst

• Surgery will be routinely commissioned only if a ganglion cyst is causing significant pain or significant functional impairment*

*Significant functional impairment is defined as a loss or absence of an individual's capacity to meet personal, social or occupational demands.

Where the circumstances of treatment for an individual patient do not meet the criteria described above exceptional funding can be sought. Individual cases will be reviewed by the appropriate panel of NHS Devon upon receipt of a completed application from the patient's GP, consultant or clinician. Applications cannot be considered from patients personally

Individual funding requests

Referral Forms

Ganglion Cyst Interventions Referral Proforma No Merge Fields

Ganglion Cyst Interventions Referral Proforma EMIS

Ganglion Cyst Interventions Referral Proforma Systmone

Patient Information

MyHealth patient information - Ganglion cyst

Evidence

References

• Ganglions Treatment & Management. Author: Valerie E Cothran, MD; Chief Editor: Harris Gellman et al.
• Cancer research UK. Soft tissue sarcoma
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Suspected cancer: recognition and referral. NICE, 2015
• Lakkaraju A, Sinha R, Garikipati R, Edward S, Robinson P. Ultrasound for initial evaluation and triage of clinically suspicious soft-tissue masses. Clin Radiol 2009;64:615-21. doi:10.1016/j.crad.2009.01.012. 19414084.
• Soft tissue sarcoma. BMJ 2016;352:i436

Pathway Group

This guideline has been signed off on behalf of NHS Devon.

Publication date: May 2017

Updated: October 2019