Knee Cyst - Baker's (baker's) Cyst, Treatment And Surgery

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Knee baker cyst treatment and surgery

Content:

• Signs and symptoms of a knee cyst
• Knee cyst causes
• Baker's cyst of the knee
• Other types of knee cysts
• Knee Cyst Treatment
• Knee cyst removal (surgery)

A cyst of the knee joint is a tumor-like benign formation that is localized on the back wall of the joint and is an accumulation of joint fluid. Clinically, this phenomenon is characterized by swelling of the popliteal fossa zone. Since the cyst is connected to the articular cavity, its protrusion is much like a hernia. The knee cyst can measure from 2 to 100 mm. Reaching a large value, the formation bursts.

The knee cyst is most clearly visualized when the leg is extended; it is more difficult to detect it at the moment of flexion. The skin at the site of localization of the formation does not change its color, there are no adhesions.

Mainly those people suffer from this disease, whose work activity is associated with high physical activity, carrying heavy loads, as well as athletes. In children, this disease is much less common than in older people.

A knee cyst can be a secondary disease that develops against the background of such diagnoses as arthrosis, arthritis and the like.

A cyst of this kind is very labile: it has the ability to change size or disappear. The cystic formations themselves are single (when only one cavity is formed) and multiple (several small cysts appear).

Signs and symptoms of a knee cyst

This disease has the following manifestations:

• swelling of the joint area with clear boundaries, which lends itself well to palpation;
• dysfunction of the joint of varying degrees, up to immobility;
• soreness when the joint works;
• swelling and numbness of nearby tissues.

In this case, symptoms may be completely absent at the initial stage or manifest themselves due to mild discomfort. But with an increase in the size of the cyst, the pressure on nearby nerves and blood vessels increases, which leads to numbness, tingling in the sole, painful sensations in the knee itself and a feeling of constant cold in the area below the knee. Leg movement becomes difficult and painful.

Occasionally, the pressure of the knee cyst on the popliteal vein is so intense that it promotes deep vein thrombosis or varicose veins. This situation is accompanied by a feeling of discomfort, heaviness, puffiness.

With such a complication as a ruptured knee cyst, severe, sharp pain may occur, the skin on the back of the leg turns red, swells, and the temperature rises.

Knee cyst causes

The following factors, which are associated with the processes of the pathology of the knee joint, can cause the appearance of a cyst:

• injury to the knee joint: blows, subluxations, which are most often associated with sports;
• degenerative changes and damage to the menisci;
• chronic stage of inflammatory processes in the membranes of the knee joints;
• damage, destruction of the cartilage of the joint;
• the presence of such diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, patellofemoral arthrosis, etc.

Due to the above circumstances, increased production of synovial fluid begins, and its accumulation in the posterior knee part. A large amount of this substance begins to put pressure on the endings of the nerves, which leads to the appearance of characteristic symptoms.

Excess fluid in the knee joint is otherwise referred to as joint effusion or water in the knee.

Knee cysts can occur even when the knee is generally healthy. In this case, the bursa - the sacs of synovial fluid designed to reduce the friction of the movable elements of the joints - forms a tunnel that connects with the joint shell. Through it, fluid flows into the knee bursa, causing edema. This clinical picture is most typical for pediatric patients.

An ultrasound of the knee joint or MRI can help identify the exact cause of the disease. Less often, for this purpose, a puncture of the contents of the cyst is performed.

Baker's cyst of the knee

Baker's cyst is a soft, but firm, benign mass that develops in the popliteal fossa (the back of the knee joint). It is distinguished by an elastic dense structure and is characterized by deformation of the synovial membrane and destructive processes in the joint capsule.

Baker's cyst resembles a hernia in structure, since it does not consist of individual cells, but has a connection with the joint capsule.

This formation is best seen with an extended knee, when it is bent, the cyst is less convex and has a lower density.

This disease was named after the British physician William Baker, who owns the first publications with reports on synovial cysts localized in the knee joint.

Other types of knee cysts

A ganglion cyst of the knee joint is considered to be a benign formation that comes from the tendon sheath and the joint capsule. It is a spherical or oval formation with a duct in the middle connecting the cyst with the tendon sheath and the articular capsule. The filling of the cyst is a transparent liquid or gelatinous substance. On examination, the ganglion cyst looks like a small water sac or a tight elastic tumor. This disease is quite rare. It can be difficult to determine its cause unequivocally; most often it affects young women suffering from joint hypermobility. In addition, the ganglion cyst of the knee is sometimes the result of injury.

The parameniscus cyst of the knee joint occurs when the meniscus cyst spreads to the ligaments and the capsular area. The tumor-like formation becomes large and does not disappear when the knee is extended. Palpation and diagnosis are not difficult.

The parameniscus cyst of the knee joint belongs to the third stage of cystic degeneration of the meniscus. A complex form of the disease requires surgical intervention. It can be avoided with timely access to a doctor, correct diagnosis, an integrated approach to treatment followed by physiotherapy. In this case, complete restoration of knee functions can be achieved.

A synovial cyst of the knee joint can be characterized by a hernia or a change in the synovial membrane of the joint. The exact cause of this disease is not clear, but people with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and joint injuries are at risk. Since conservative methods of treatment have a weak effect, most often they resort to surgical measures. During the operation, the synovial cyst is removed and the weak point of the capsule is sutured by means of a special suture that helps to strengthen it.

Modern medicine offers endoscopic removal of the synovial knee cyst, since this method allows you to minimize injuries and accelerate, improve the efficiency of the rehabilitation process.

It is important to seek medical help on time, since the synovial cyst can rupture at any time and thereby significantly complicate the treatment and restoration of knee functions.

Ankylosing spondylitis in the knee joint is a rarer name for Baker's cyst. This is inflammation of the articular cavity caused by various degenerative processes with the formation of a tumor.

The subchondral cyst of the knee joint is recognized as a benign cystic lesion, characterized by multiplicity. This formation consists of fibrous tissue filled with myxoid content or silicone. It accompanies the course of a number of degenerative changes in the articular cartilage.

A subchondral cyst is more common in older people and is most often asymptomatic. The diameter of the formation can vary from 0.5 to 1.5 cm. During examination, a defect of the subchondral bone is observed, for which the surrounding normal bone tissue serves as the walls. The outer fibrous tissue has a loose or dense consistency, and the inner lining of the subchondral cyst is undetectable.

The cyst of the medial meniscus of the knee joint reveals itself as pain localized in the inner region of the knee joint, which is felt especially acutely with intense bending of the leg. A symptom may be weakness in the anterior thigh muscles. This cyst usually bulges in front of or behind the inner side wall. The most effective treatment is arthroscopy, which provides a small incision size and quick recovery without a plaster cast.

Knee Cyst Treatment

If you have symptoms that indicate the appearance of benign lesions, you should immediately seek help from competent specialists. Since the treatment of a cyst is always selected individually, taking into account the characteristics of a particular case, only a qualified doctor can choose the most suitable from the list of effective methods. This can be conservative treatment or surgical measures. Recipes of traditional medicine and physiotherapy will serve as auxiliary means.

In most cases, drug treatment is ineffective. Various drugs can help reduce pain, but they do not affect the cause of the disease, which means they are not able to restore the mobility of the joint. This method is used mainly before or after surgery. Then drugs are prescribed to relieve inflammation and relieve pain. They can be used in the form of ointments, tablets, injections.

One of the operative methods is cyst puncture. It is carried out as follows: a cyst is pierced with a thick needle and the liquid is sucked out of it. Then steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (Triamcinolone, Diprospan, Berlikort, etc.) are injected into the inter-tendon bag. A puncture can only give a temporary result, since later loads on the knee joint will lead to the cavity being filled with articular fluid again.

It makes sense to treat a cyst of the knee joint with the help of folk recipes only if the disease is in its primary stage and the formation is small. In addition, such funds will serve as additional therapy at the time of drug treatment or at the stage of postoperative recovery. In this capacity, celandine, burdock, golden mustache have proven themselves well. Compresses and tinctures are made from them. Any methods of treatment with folk remedies must be coordinated with the attending physician without fail.

Physiotherapy is prescribed only during the period of remission, since physical activity can cause pain recurrence and complications of the disease.

Therapeutic exercises for a cyst of the knee joint are prescribed by a physiotherapist and at first monitors their implementation. Later, the patient can do exercise therapy at home and conduct light self-massage sessions.

In order to reduce pain and relieve inflammation, SUF radiation, infrared laser therapy, and low-intensity UHF therapy are used. Hydrogen sulfide, radon baths are prescribed to improve blood flow.

Knee cyst removal (surgery)

The following cases are indications for surgical intervention and removal of the cyst:

• education is large;
• the cyst is very painful;
• the disease progresses rapidly;
• other treatments were found to be ineffective.

During the operation, the cyst is completely removed, local anesthesia is applied. The duration of the operation reaches half an hour, the next day the patient leaves the hospital, after 5 days the knee joint is ready for minor loads, after a week the stitches are removed.

Removal of a knee cyst may be recommended as a treatment for an underlying problem of knee disease, such as a meniscus rupture, since in this case the appearance of a mass is a secondary disease.

The author of the article: Volkov Dmitry Sergeevich | c. m. n. surgeon, phlebologist

Education: Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry (1996). In 2003 he received a diploma from the Educational and Scientific Medical Center of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation.