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Ganglion cyst.
Jan. 28th, 2016 05:09 pmAbout three weeks ago, I was walking Shadeaux on her retractable leash. I usually hold the leash in my left hand, because I am left-handed. Shadeaux saw a squirrel or another dog or a shady-looking plastic bag or some other deadly threat & charged, pulling hard against the leash.
And a little knot at the base of my index finger said, Ouch.
When I got home, I dug around in the flesh of my hand and found a pea-sized, hard lump that felt like bone, right at the bottom of my index finger, on the side near the middle finger:
It didn't hurt to poke & prod at it, but it did hurt when I held things that pressed against it, like the dog leash. Or a knife while cutting up food for dinner. Or a steering wheel. Or a ski pole. Or the xBox controller. So, you know, it was definitely annoying.
Also, it's a freakin' lump of bone that mysteriously appeared in my finger. Not. Cool.
So I went to my primary care physician, who sent me for an X-ray. The X-ray came back with no anomalies, so my PCP referred me to a hand specialist, who I saw today. He took about 3.4 seconds to diagnose a ganglion cyst on the tendon sheath. To me, these cysts sound kind of like a hernia - a small lesion forms on the sheath that surrounds the tendon, and the tendon-lubricating fluid (synovial fluid for the terminology-minded) bulges outward at the lesion, creating the cyst. There are two treatments - 1) surgery to repair the damage to the tendon sheath, & 2) a cortisone injection reduce the inflammation of the sheath so it can have a chance to heal itself.
Sign me up for Option Two, please! Pretty soon I was laying down on a table with my hand laying flat, knuckles down. The doctor tells me to hold still then STICKS THE NEEDLE STRAIGHT THROUGH THE CYST. I have not the words. Thank God it was over quickly & the cortisone was followed up with a local anesthetic that numbed the whole finger. The doctor said this treatment is 50-70% effective, & I could feel the cyst decreasing in size before I even left his office. However, if it re-forms, I will have to go back & at that point, we will be looking at surgery to repair the sheath.
And a little knot at the base of my index finger said, Ouch.
When I got home, I dug around in the flesh of my hand and found a pea-sized, hard lump that felt like bone, right at the bottom of my index finger, on the side near the middle finger:
It didn't hurt to poke & prod at it, but it did hurt when I held things that pressed against it, like the dog leash. Or a knife while cutting up food for dinner. Or a steering wheel. Or a ski pole. Or the xBox controller. So, you know, it was definitely annoying.
Also, it's a freakin' lump of bone that mysteriously appeared in my finger. Not. Cool.
So I went to my primary care physician, who sent me for an X-ray. The X-ray came back with no anomalies, so my PCP referred me to a hand specialist, who I saw today. He took about 3.4 seconds to diagnose a ganglion cyst on the tendon sheath. To me, these cysts sound kind of like a hernia - a small lesion forms on the sheath that surrounds the tendon, and the tendon-lubricating fluid (synovial fluid for the terminology-minded) bulges outward at the lesion, creating the cyst. There are two treatments - 1) surgery to repair the damage to the tendon sheath, & 2) a cortisone injection reduce the inflammation of the sheath so it can have a chance to heal itself.
Sign me up for Option Two, please! Pretty soon I was laying down on a table with my hand laying flat, knuckles down. The doctor tells me to hold still then STICKS THE NEEDLE STRAIGHT THROUGH THE CYST. I have not the words. Thank God it was over quickly & the cortisone was followed up with a local anesthetic that numbed the whole finger. The doctor said this treatment is 50-70% effective, & I could feel the cyst decreasing in size before I even left his office. However, if it re-forms, I will have to go back & at that point, we will be looking at surgery to repair the sheath.
