digital mucous cyst in toe

Hi all,

Adding to the popular series of threads on cysts, I've recently experienced what I think is a digital mucous cyst on the top of my big toe between the first joint and the nail. Basically a sizable bump filled with a clear gel-like fluid (drained it a couple times but it comes back). After researching it I'm pretty sure it's caused by a leak in the synovial fluid in the first joint of the big toe. Seems there are several ways to address the problem with varying degrees of success - some dermatological approaches that are less invasive but with a lower success rate or an orthopedic surgery route which I keep seeing requires a "bigger surgery area than you might think" although it has a high cure rate because it can go in and break the connection to the source fluid leak in the joint.

Anyway, I'm starting my rounds on trying to find the best podiatrist in the area to begin with but thought I'd see if anyone else had this exact issue. It's not exactly a ganglion cyst but seems like it could be a common thing because I'll bet it is tied to the excess pressure we climbers put on finger and toe joints and joint capsules (this same thing happens in fingers). Honestly I've had the issue for a while (a year?) and it wasn't much more than annoying although I'm worried it may degenerate now that I'm clearer on what I'm looking at.

Anyone have this treated and any sense of recovery time or various therapies?

Thanks.

I see these most often on toes in climbers and ballet dancers, and on fingers in guitar players and other musicians who finger-pick stringed instruments. They're a nuisance, with no easy sure-fire answer. The surgery is a bigger deal than it looks like it should be, and though highly effective isn't 100%; recurrences do happen. IMO it's worth several tries at the aspirate-and-inject approach before going to surgery, as that's so much simpler and safer.

I had mine aspirated and injected four times before the @#$%! thing finally gave up and went away. This is not a theoretical discussion for me, given how I make money to afford to climb, so FWIW that was how I chose to go.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I plan to try to push for the less aggressive approach as well and deal with going through it a few times before I yield to the scalpel. There are some really awful looking pics of stitched up toes out there... now to find the right doc.

Btw, what was the after aspirate+inject recovery like? Aspirating it myself wasn't any big deal but I don't know how the inject part would be. I am not psyched about putting funky climbing shoes on over a recent wound/cut even if it's well bandaged.

Matt Westlake wrote:...Btw, what was the after aspirate+inject recovery like?...