Could my Ganglion Cyst be the cause of my wrist pain?

[MikePM1974]

I know I can't get a real answer without proper diagnosis and I am going to see a recommended Surgeon on Friday.  He did my wife's carpal tunnel surgery, with success, so I am hopeful.  

I have been dealing with Right Wrist pain (right dominant individual) for over a decade. I have had two surgeries for tendon release, with temporary success.  I moved about 7 years ago and sought out a new Orthopedic in 2005.  He did an MRI and "did not see anything wrong" and advised the use of a splint.  I have worn about every Futuro wrist product out there with limited success.  

The pain is a dull ache that is constantly there, about a year ago the pain started getting worse and creeping up into my arm & elbow.  I went back to the Orthopedic who did another MRI.  He informed me I had two cysts in my wrist, but they were too small to be noticeable.  He did not feel these were causing my discomfort and once again advised me to use splints.

Unhappy with this answer I decided to try other specialists to see if there was something else going on, I went to a neurologist to rule out Carpal Tunnel, I saw a Rheumotologist who ruled out arthritis, both suggested trying a different Orthopedic.

I have the MRI report from last year listing the larger ganglian cyst as an 8mm x 2mm x 2mm mass. The report states that the cyst is "largely unchanged from previous imaging" meaning it was there in 2005 but was not mentioned to me at that visit.

The previous Orthopedist did not seem to think this was big enough to be causing me pain, but I am still in pain and feel like I have ruled out just about everything else.  I'd like a little more expert opinions and I'm not finding much useful online that refers to the size of cysts in relation to pain incurred.  I'd just like opinions on if looking at the cysts as the cause of my discomfort is a legitimate avenue of exploration or if I am barking up the wrong tree.

Thanks so much for all of your assistance!

[PedroH]

Hi Mike! While I am not a doctor, I have had wrist issues. I had severe pain in my wrist that would go from my elbow to my pinky @ times. I had a large ganglion on the top of my wrist so that was the first thing they blamed the pain on.-Had it removed & had continued pain that was getting worse.I then went to a neurologist who sent me to PT & told me not to take any meds as that would be harmful to my health! Lol Then I went to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered a bone scan that didn`t really show anything that was a concern.However,my OS knew that something was wrong & went ahead with an exploritory surgery- turned out I had such a ragged wrist that the surgeon said it looked like a wrist of an 80 yr.old! He cleaned it up & told me that chances were I would never have a normal wrist-it took about a year to feel good but it is now 13 or 14 years later & I still have little to no pain. So,keep on the hunt for a surgeon that will help you out. Good luck to you!

[MikePM1974]

Additional info from my MRI report:

8 x 2 x 2 mm soft tissue galgion at the volar margin of the distal radioschaphoid articulation. Minimal effusions of the distal radioulnar and the radialcarpal joints.