What are hand lumps and bumps?

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The most common hand and wrist lump is a ganglion which is a swelling of the soft tissue that happens when the joint fluid breaks through and forms a lump.

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Occult ganglions are cysts that can form on the tendons, ligaments, and joints of the body, are are often the cause of dorsal wrist pain.

What are the symptoms of ganglions?

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• Lumps on the wrist and around the finger joints, or base of the fingers on the palm where a little pearl like ganglion can form.

How are ganglions diagnosed?

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An ultrasound should show us a ganglion cyst.

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How are ganglions treated?

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Ganglions are benign and are inclined to come and go so we tend not to treat them, however if pain and functional problems are paramount, we can aspirate them, by inserting a needle and removing the fluid.

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We can also perform keyhole surgery to remove the lump, which is straightforward and performed as a day case under local anaesthetic.

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What other types of lumps can I get on my hands and wrist?

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Other lumps around the hand can be related to the structure of the hand and the skin itself, such as sebaceous cysts.

You can also get lumps from conditions such as dupuytren’s contracture which forms fibrous lumps, arthritic lumps which come from the joint or a giant cell benign tumour which form around the tendon.

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