How to Treat a Bone Cyst

A bone cyst is present when a benign cavity in the bone fills with fluid. The most common type is a simple or unicameral bone cyst. This cyst usually occurs in the upper arm or thigh bone of children between the ages of 5 and 15. Other cysts include aneurismal, epidermoid, ganglion and subchrondral.

Instructions

• 1

  Visit the doctor. Many cysts heal without treatment. Keep observing the cysts with regular exams and X-rays. Have the doctor explain the characteristics of different cysts. Aneurismal bone cysts most commonly affect people from 10 to 20-years old. Usually found in the spine or long bones, aneurismal bone cysts are filled with blood. An epidermoid bone cyst occurs in the skull. Aneurismal and epidermoid bone cysts occur usually due to trauma. A ganglion cyst appears around the joints and tendons in the hands and feet. A subchrondral cyst occurs at the end of the long bones beneath the joints. This cyst usually occurs in patients with osteoarthritis.
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• 2

  Limit movement by resting or wearing a non-weight bearing cast. You want to prevent a fracture.

• 3

  See an orthopedic surgeon if further treatment is needed. Usually treatment will be recommended if there is a risk of fracture . The surgeon will probably recommend curettage and bone grafting, steroid injections or injections of bone marrow.

• 4

  Learn how the procedure works. In curettage and bone grafting, the cyst is scraped out with a special instrument called a curette. Donor tissue or bone chips are packed into the resulting depression to replace the fluid.

• 5

  Establish a different treatment program with the doctor for an aneurismal bone cyst. This cyst may also be treated with the curettage and bone grafting procedure. Another option is to make an excision to remove the affected area of bone. The doctor may use either cryotherapy which is a surgical freezing of the cyst or radiation therapy.

• 6

  Schedule follow-up care with your doctor. Give the cyst time to heal. With the use of steroid injections, healing may take 6 to 12 months.