Intraosseous ganglion

An intraosseous ganglion is benign, tumor-like bone damage. It belongs to the group of bone cysts and occurs mainly in long bones, in the hand bones (usually moon or navicular bones) and in the pelvic sockets (acetabulum). Like any ganglion, it is always located near the joint. Tiny cracks (e.g. due to an injury) in the joint surface can penetrate synovial fluid into the medullary cavity of the adjacent bone and destroy the cancellous bone . A cavity is formed in which the ganglion is formed. In rare cases, the intraosseous ganglion can also spread outside the bone (extraosseous).

Symptoms

Intraosseous ganglia are mainly noticeable as pain in the affected joint. If there is an extraosseous portion outside of the bone, there may also be bulges in the corresponding places.

Not all ganglia cause pain. Sometimes large ganglia can remain completely pain-free, while tiny, barely visible micro-ganglia can cause massive pain.

diagnosis

Due to the diffuse symptoms, rheumatic diseases (e.g. tendonitis, osteoarthritis) are often thought of first. It often takes a long time before the correct diagnosis is made, especially since the X-ray image is usually normal. Only tomography methods allow reliable diagnostics.

therapy

As long as an intraosseous ganglion does not cause pain or there is a risk of a bone fracture, no treatment is required. In the event of discomfort, the affected area is exposed in an operation, the cyst is removed and the bone cavity is scraped out. In the case of larger cavities, a so-called spongiosaplasty is performed. A part of healthy cancellous bone is removed from a healthy bone (e.g. radius or pelvis) and inserted into the cavity. Since it is living tissue, it grows together with the rest of the bone.

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !