Carpal Bone Cyst

Abstract

Roentgenograms of 1273 wrists of 877 outpatients and 156 wrists of 79 patients with vibration disease were reviewed in order to analyze the clinical and radiographic features of carpal bone cysts. The evaluation included the incidence, location, and size of the cysts. Correlations between incidence and age, sex, laterality, and ulnar variance were also evaluated. Another 10 wrists of ten patients with carpal bone cysts which had been treated surgically were also reviewed.

Among the outpatients, carpal bone cysts were found in 8.1% of the wrists, and in 18.6% of the patients with vibration disease. The incidence of cysts was higher in elderly patients, in those with vibration disease, and on the right side. Cysts tended to be located in the proximal carpal row. This suggests that exposure of the carpal bones to mechanical stress might cause carpal bone cysts.

The 10 patients who underwent surgical treatment were young, and their cysts were large and symptomatic. None of the patients had any symptoms after surgery. The histological findings of the operated cysts varied but most of them revealed some abnormality, such as intraosseous ganglions. Surgery should be considered in the treatment of symptomatic carpal bone cysts.