Fine needle aspiration in the treatment of ganglion cysts

Twenty-eight ganglion cysts in 21 patients were diagnosed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) in the Cytopathology Service of The George Washington University Medical Center from January 1979 to December 1984. Twenty-four of these were aspirated by a pathologist. One patient had two ganglions. Seven of the 21 patients had recurrences and six were reaspirated. In five of those patients the cysts never attained their original size or interfered with function. Follow-up ranged from three to 71 months. Based upon our experience, we believe that FNA is a simple, fast, effective, nontraumatic, inexpensive method of treating ganglion cysts.