Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The synovial wrist ganglion is a particularly common pathology of which the first "complication" is recidivism. The main objective of our study was to determine the rate of recurrence of this pathology in a series of arthroscopic patients. The secondary objective was to assess patient satisfaction well after the operation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Our study was observational and retrospective and involved 30 patients (17 dorsal and 13 palmar cases) aged 41 years on average. The patients underwent an arthroscopic procedure for a palmar or dorsal ganglion of the wrist between March 2007 and April 2013. The data were collected by re-reading the files and conducting telephone interviews. Each patient answered a questionnaire about the operation, after-treatment, and their satisfaction well after the surgery. At the end of the interview, we calculated the Patient Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) score. RESULTS: The mean follow-up was 4.6 years. A recurrence was noted in 4 (13%) cases, at an average delay of 9 months (6 months-1 year). There were only 2 patients (6.7%) that experienced the complication of complex regional pain syndrome type 1. Twenty-eight (93%) patients experienced improvement in postoperative pain. For 27 (90%) patients, firm-handed activities could be practised without limitation. The average time to resumption of activities of daily living was 27.1 days (1-240 days), resumption of firm-handed activities was 56 days (15-360 days), and return to work was 47.5 days (1-360 days). The mean PRWE score was 6.9/50 (0-34) for pain and 1.38/50 (0-8) for function. CONCLUSION: The 13% recurrence rate is on the average of what is observed in the literature. Later satisfaction with the intervention is very good, and complications remain rare.Studies tend to show a lower rate of complications and recurrence following arthroscopic treatment, but to date, no randomized comparative series between the two methods has yet revealed any significant difference in these two points. A study of this type on a large scale could make it possible to highlight one of these treatment approaches.