Diagnosis and treatment of hygroma of the wrist joint in the practice of an outpatient surgeon

Abstract

Introduction. Synovial cyst or hygroma is a common disease that occurs in both children and adults, but it is most often observed in people 20–45 years old. More than 60% of patients who go to the polyclinic with complaints about the presence of tumor-like formations have hygroma.Goal. Analysis of the results of treatment of synovial cysts of the hand and wrist joint according to our own observations and literature data.Material and methods. We observed 54 patients suffering from hygroma of the hand and wrist joint, who were treated in polyclinic No. 2 and MEDEL multidisciplinary clinic in Kazan from 2005 to 2020. The treatment of hygrom was carried out using conservative (puncture) and surgical methods. Results. Our experience showed that after a single puncture of the hygroma with the evacuation of its contents (10 patients), relapse developed in all cases. After repeated puncture of the hygroma in 10 patients with evacuation of the contents and subsequent administration of 0.5 ml of betaspan solution, 6 of them did not relapse within 5–6 months, but 4 patients had a relapse in the nearest period (1–2 months). Of the 23 patients who underwent surgery to remove the hygroma, 15 of them had no relapses. In 8 patients in the postoperative period, recurrent hygroma occurred, which could be explained by the ineffectiveness of eliminating the communication zone between the hygroma and the joint.Conclusions. For the successful treatment of this disease, it is important to understand that for the occurrence and development of hygroma, its communication with the joint cavity or tendon vagina is of great importance. In the absence of a message, the successful use of puncture methods of treatment is possible. In the presence of such a message and its detection during preoperative examination, surgical treatment should be planned with mandatory ligation of the leg of the hygroma.