There is a real deficit of studies of higher methodological quality, and the necessity of more studies to ensure the best prediction of outcomes in wrist arthroscopy [9].

We reviewed the literature on arthroscopic resection of volar wrist ganglion. The publication dates ranged from 2001 to 2012 (Table 22.1). Only one was a prospective randomized study; the authors compared the open resection and arthroscopic resection. All of the other studies were level IV of evidence [10–17].

A total of 232 wrists were submitted to an arthroscopic resection. The same operative technique described by Ho et al. [18, 19] was used by all authors. One author included an intrafocal cystic portal [13].

The mean age of patients described in eight articles was 40.45 years. All reported a major incidence in women with a female:male ratio of 3:1. Of nine articles, the follow-up ranged from 12 months to 56 months with a mean of 23.82 months.

There were 14 recurrences. The recurrence rate ranged from 0 % to 20 % with mean of 6.03 %.

There were 16 (6.89 %) related complications. No connection of the complication with the ganglion was described in six wrists [18, 19]. Volar hematoma was described in three patients [20, 21]. Partial lesions of the median nerve were reported in two articles [12, 21], two lesions of a branch of the radial artery [10, 11], and neuropraxis of the superficial radial nerve [10, 13, 19]. Osterman (in the 65th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand 2010) and Langner et al. [14] did not report any complications. No patient had loss of arc range of motion.

In a study of five patients of Rocchi et al. [10] the recurrence and complications were higher for midcarpal ganglions.

Recently, Langner et al. reported that patients with volar painful ganglions of the wrist and a positive ulnocarpal stress test are highly associated with TFCC abnormalities [14].