The effects of different anesthetic approaches on recurrence in the surgical treatment of ganglion cysts

Abstract

Aim: The surgical treatment of ganglion cysts usually involves local anesthesia (LA), regional anesthesia (RA), and axillary block applications. We aimed to show the effects of these anesthesia types on recurrence in surgically treated ganglion cysts. Material and Method: Between 2017-2019,142 patients were operated on in our clinic due to the dorsal ganglion cyst of the wrist. Cysts outside the dorsal region and patients who did not regularly attend their follow-up visits for at least 12 months were excluded. One hundred and thirty-five patients, with a mean age of 39.3 (15-73) years, were included in the study. LA (Group I) was applied to the patients who stated that they could tolerate the pain, and RA was used on those who stated that they could not (Group II) after preoperative anesthesia consultations. The files of the patients in both groups were reviewed retrospectively, and the effect of anesthesia type on recurrence was investigated. Results: Recurrence rates were significantly lower in the RA group compared to those in the LA group (p=0.049). The risk of recurrence in the LA group was 2.80 (0.95-8.28) times higher than in the RA group. The mean operation time of the RA group was significantly lower than that of the local anesthesia group (p=0.0001). Conclusion: The fact that RA allows tourniquet applications with deeper and longer-lasting anesthesia compared to LA increases surgical comfort and makes way for the comfortable dissection of the cyst and total excision of all components within a short operative time.