mri for poss ganglion cyst

[undertoad]

I saw a hand surgeon for a problem i'm having with my wrist.  He said he believes it may be a ganglion cyst, but that, if it is, it's small and under the skin because he can't actually feel the cyst.  There is, however, a 1 inch x 1/2 inch area of swelling on the top of my wrist, below my thumb, which, he said, is not usually where a ganglion cyst appears.  So he ordered an MRI to make sure it is a ganglion cyst.  My question is this:  why did he order it with & without contrast?  Is this standard, or is there something he's not telling me?  Just curious, as I left his office without asking him this question.  It kinda seems like a big test for a benign little cyst.  Thanks.

[boninclyde]

Laughter is good, trying to laugh as much as I can for my 5 year old. If something happens to me I don't want her to remember me crying which could lead to all kinds of imaginary things in her mind. I try to tell her often I am not in any pain.

Your welcome. Have a Great Day.

[Demiguise]

Now THAT's funny! In a painful sorta' way. I do volunteer
hospice wk. & take my laptop & read from this site. They're
going to love your post. Amazing how much entertainment they
get from this board. We need more humor to fire up those
happy neurons. It's like a swap-meet. One mans pain, is another
mans smile.  Thanks for the update on Charley.

[boninclyde]

Demi thats what my husband does for his. He just hits it with a hammer then it is gone for quite a while. No I would not suggest anyone else doing this though.

[Demiguise]

I agree w/ you. Seems pretty extreme if doc thought it was a
poss. ganglionic cyst. The usual place of swelling to alert you
is the center of the bend of wrist. I had a real lulu. It didn't hurt but interferred some w/ certain tasks. Doc said I
only feel mushy/fluid. These can come up in any joint area of
hand or like you described. I'd get a copy of report & read for
yourself finding. If you had other issues like you mentioned,
they'd be in report too. As for surgery, that is reallly the last you want to do since scar tissue forms & no one knows if
it will be a problem. As for mine, we did a wait & 2 weeks later
I tripped & slammed wrist into wall. That night I noticed it was
gone. A week later, I showed doc & he laughed. Said in the 50's,
we'd grab a thick med book & read a minute to impress patient,
then slam it to startle you & smash your wrist w/ it to flatten.
Said it always worked. I thought he was joking. I researched &
found that WAS the old medicine way! I think your doc was being
cautious. Don't try this at home! Gd-luck.

[undertoad]

thanks for explaining the contrast/no contrast thing - i really appreciate it - and, yes, that helps a lot - thank you

[star queen]

Ganglion cysts are usually very easy to diagnose.  I think since it is the "wrong" place, he/she is not sure what it is.  Before cutting into your hand he/she wants to be sure what is in there and where it is.  Normal MRI will show tissues and fluids.  Dyes are used to visualize the blood flow and "roots" of the growth.  It will be useful to diagnose the problem and to what extent it has integrated into the muscle and identify where it is getting blood flow.  Combined this information will give both the radiologist and the ortho to properly diagnose your problem so that the correct treatment plan my be implemented.  Hope this helps

[boninclyde]

Kind of strange to have MRI for this. Why not just extract it? It is a pretty simple proceedure.