Prophylaxis and prognosis
Prophylaxis in the true sense of the word cannot be practiced. If a popliteal cyst is known, it is possible to limit one’s activity in case of severe symptoms in order to reduce the swelling. However, if the activity is impaired, one should consider one of the above mentioned therapies together with one’s treating physician in order to prevent further general illnesses.
The chance of getting rid of a popliteal cyst is strongly dependent on the causal diagnosis. If the underlying disease is osteoarthritis of the knee (gonarthrosis), it can be assumed that the patient – depending on the actual symptoms of the osteoarthritis – will also have a more or less symptomatic popliteal cyst by the end of his or her life. If, however, the knee cyst is an acute injury to the meniscus in the knee joint, it is to be expected that no relevant symptoms of a knee cyst will be perceived after the meniscus damage has healed or after surgical therapy of the meniscus damage.
Neither the knee puncture, with suction of the synovial fluid from the cyst, nor the surgical therapy are always satisfactory. The cyst sometimes has several partitions (septa), so that only a certain amount of fluid can be removed during the puncture. Since the connection between the extended joint capsule (former cyst) and the joint space remains intact despite this therapy, the wall can bulge again and fill the sac with synovial fluid. The risk of recurrence of the popliteal cyst is high.
