ArticleHand (New York, N.Y.)2025
The Cost Does Not Outweigh the Benefit: Pathologic Evaluation of Wrist Ganglion Cysts Should Not Be Routine.
Article in Hand (New York, N.Y.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundAs health care costs in the United States continue to rise, there is increasing attention on cost-saving measures. One area of investigation is the utility of pathologic examination of specimens from routine procedures with a suspected benign pathology. We assessed the utility and cost of routine pathologic analysis for wrist ganglion cyst excision.
methodsA retrospective cohort study of all wrist ganglion cyst excisions performed by seven hand surgeons was conducted from 2015 to 2019 at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Preoperative and intraoperative diagnoses, pathologic diagnosis, and pathology cost were assessed.
resultsA total of 407 patients underwent ganglion cyst excision, with 318 (78.1%) specimens sent for pathologic review. Of the 318, 317 (99.6%) specimens were concordant with the preoperative or intraoperative diagnosis of ganglion cyst. One specimen (0.3%) resulted as a benign cystic vascular malformation. The charge per specimen was $258, totaling $81,786 spent confirming benign pathology that was clinically correctly diagnosed by the operating surgeon in 99.6% of cases.
conclusionsRoutine pathologic analysis is not indicated in cases in which surgeons have a high clinical suspicion for ganglion cyst based on preoperative and intraoperative findings. Pathologic review should be reserved for cases with atypical presentations or intraoperative findings.
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