Baker’s Cyst -- Watch and Wait A Baker’s cyst is a smooth fluid-filled soft cyst on the back of your knee. It is also called a Popliteal Cyst. It

Baker’s Cyst -- Watch and Wait

A Baker’s cyst is a smooth fluid-filled soft cyst on the back of your knee. It is also called a Popliteal Cyst. It connects to your knee joint by a little duct or fistula and thus contains synovial fluid, the oily substance that keeps joints moving smoothly.

Baker’s cyst can appear apparently overnight or take weeks or months to develop. They can be caused my injury, for example damage to a cartilage, by osteoarthritis or occur spontaneously and have no apparent cause.

In my view the best way to deal with a Baker’s cyst is to adapt a “wait and see” policy. Nothing is to be lost by simply observing the cyst and seeing if it gets bigger, becomes very uncomfortable or disfiguring. In most cases however this will not be the case. Very often a Baker’s cyst simply goes away by itself in time.

Certainly nothing is to be gained in rushing to surgery or drainage. Of course you will find surgeons only too willing to intervene because that’s how they make their living. However, you are in charge and in control and take your time is my advice.

If you have or have had a Baker’s Cyst then we’d love to hear from you.