Growths on knuckles
Head of the Department of Medicine and Chief of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology Services,
All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi Consultant Rheumatologist, 'A&R Clinic'
Visiting Sr. Consultant, Rheumatologist, ISIC Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi.
Q: For about last two years I have small cyst like growths on knuckles of my fingers on both the hands. Initally they used to disappear after a few days,but now they are growing in size and nos. too.Though I dont have any pain still I would like to know what it can be and which specialist I should consult. class="text">For about last two years I have small cyst like growths on knuckles of my fingers on both the hands. Initally they used to disappear after a few days,but now they are growing in size and nos. too.Though I dont have any pain still I would like to know what it can be and which specialist I should consult.
A:It is difficult to make a guess without having actually clinically examined the patient. However, your description could fit in with an aging process in the joints of the hands called osteoarthritis where bony nodules appear at the terminal and the middle finger joints. These have been given the name of Heberdens nodes and Bouchards nodes, respectively. However, this is only a guess work. The patient needs to be seen by a trained specialist in joint disease to give the correct opinion.