C. Noel Henley, MD

Hand and Upper Extremity Specialist

  • About
  • For Patients
    • Deciding to Have Surgery
    • Nonsurgical Treatment
    • Living With One Hand
    • After Treatment
    • Instructions After Surgery
    • Make An Appointment
  • Disclaimer
  • Articles
  • What Patients are Saying
  • Appointments

Miley Cyrus Wrist Cyst Surgery Explained

December 15, 2014 by Dr. Henley Leave a Comment

What happened to Miley’s wrist?

Friday, Miley Cyrus posted pictures of her wrist surgery on Instagram. Here’s the most likely story behind the graphic picture that’s all over the internet.

The most likely diagnosis

Miley most likely had a ganglion cyst. It’s the most common tumor of the hand and wrist – and it’s completely benign. In this picture of Miley dancing you can see a subtle lump on her left wrist. Apparently this was taken recently, just before the surgery. This is the exact spot where the cyst is typically located. miley-dancing-cyst   A cyst is a fluid filled tumor (a tumor just means “a swelling”). A ganglion cyst comes from a joint and is filled with a clear jelly. Here’s a video of a ganglion cyst being removed in surgery.

Do they hurt?

Most patients do not have much pain with these. However, they can cause some discomfort, especially with hyperextension of the wrist. In rare cases they can push on a nerve and cause numbness or tingling in the hand.

What causes them?

Ganglion cysts occur in people of all ages. Little kids all the way up to elderly people. In young people like Miley, they’re almost always caused by small microtears in the joint lining that let fluid escape from inside the joint. The fluid collects outside the joint and forms a cyst.

How are they treated?

Cysts can sometimes be ruptured with a needle in the doctor’s office. When the cyst is on the palm side of the wrist (like Miley’s), it is right next to the radial artery, the major source of blood flow into the hand. So it can be risky to put a needle into these cysts – the artery may be damaged. Sometimes it’s safer to just leave the cyst alone or remove it in surgery. Risks of taking out Miley’s cyst include: small risk of infection, damage to a small nerve next to the cyst, and damage to the radial artery. The cyst could also come back – there’s about a 5% chance of that.

What’s going on in the surgery picture?

miley-cyst-surgery In this picture we see Miley’s left hand, palm up on a blue background. That’s a surgical towel covering up the table where the surgeon works. The gloved hands are either the assistant’s hands or the surgeon’s hands. The circulating nurse is probably taking the picture by holding the camera above Miley’s wrist while the surgeon holds the retractors. The retractor on the left side is closest to the radial artery – it’s a blunt retractor, probably called a Senn rake. It has one blunt end and a sharp, rake-like end. You can see what the other end looks like on the right side of the picture. On the right side of the incision you can see something white – that’s a large tendon called the Flexor Carpi Radialis tendon. These cysts poke up right between the radial artery and the FCR tendon. If you want to Google other pictures of the type of cyst Miley had – just type in “volar ganglion cyst” into Google Images. The ink around the incision is used by the surgeon to mark where the incision should be. Sometimes the surgeon uses a smaller incision than where he marks. You can see the incision doesn’t go quite as far up toward the fingers as he’s marked on Miley’s wrist. You can also see the marking pen on the towel at the bottom of the picture. The smiley face is drawn on the cyst itself – I can’t tell if this was done later after the photo was taken or drawn by the surgeon on the actual cyst.

Why isn’t there any blood?

The surgeon uses a tourniquet to prevent blood from flowing into the surgical incision so he can see all the anatomy. This lowers the chance he’ll cut something he shouldn’t.

Is Miley asleep for the surgery?

Probably. These surgeries can easily be done with the patient awake or just sedated, with their arm numbed up. She may be awake enough to look at the cyst but then probably laid back down to let the surgeon keep working. In this picture, Miley has an ID bracelet and what looks like an IV in her right arm, and nothing on the arm with the cyst on it. That means she was at least sedated for the surgery, if not asleep completely. miley-cyst-mirror

More Questions?

Post more questions about this type of surgery in the comments below!

Filed Under: Famous Hands and Arms

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

EDUCATION PAGES

click on the links below to start learning:

  • arthritis: base of the thumb
  • arthritis: osteoarthritis
  • carpal tunnel syndrome
  • trigger finger
  • ganglion cysts
  • tennis elbow (epicondylitis)
  • wrist fractures
  • cubital tunnel syndrome
  • deQuervain's tendonitis
  • elbow fractures
  • olecranon bursitis
  • fingertip injuries
  • hand fractures

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Call our office today at 479-521-2752 to make an appointment with Dr. Henley

Featured Articles

Mallet Finger Injury

“my finger doesn’t work”“my finger is bent”“my finger won’t straighten”“my finger is drooped” These are several of the most common things I hear when patients come in with a mallet finger.  A mallet finger is the name for a ruptured (torn) tendon at the tip of the finger. A tendon rupture is where a tendon […]

Bad Thumb Arthritis – What Does It Look Like?

The video below shows a patient’s thumb moving back and forth. As you’ll see, most of the range of motion is at the MP (metacarpophalangeal) joint. This is abnormal – in a normal thumb, the majority of the motion is through the CMC (carpometacarpal joint, at the base of the thumb). When the CMC joint […]

Forearm Fractures In Kids – What Parents Need To Know

Bones in children are different from bones in adults. They break differently and they respond differently to injury. Some fractures occur both in adults and kids – some fractures occur only in children. Forearm fractures occur in both, with some important differences. This article will cover some of the basics of forearm fractures in kids. […]

Fingertip Ganglion Cysts – Mucous Cysts

The most common tumor in the finger is a ganglion cyst. A ganglion cyst is simply a fluid-filled sac. It can be visible from the outside or buried deep underneath the skin. Sometimes it causes symptoms like soreness and pain; other times patients have no idea it’s there. What is a mucous cyst? Ganglion cysts […]

Categories

  • anatomy
  • announcements
  • arthritis
  • bone health
  • carpal tunnel syndrome
  • common problems
  • current events
  • Famous Hands and Arms
  • FAQ
  • fractures
  • hand surgery
  • injections
  • media appearances
  • news
  • nonsurgical treatment
  • nutrition
  • philosophy of medicine
  • prevention
  • sports
  • surgery
  • tests
  • thumb
  • Uncategorized
  • video
  • wrist surgery

Copyright © 2023 · Dynamik-Gen on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in