Cyst on young child’s foot
I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter that has developed a hard lump on her left foot in front and slightly below her ankle bone. I just noticed it last week, so it was kind of a sudden development.
It looks like she has 2 ankle bones, but the lump is slightly larger and protrudes out more. It is firm, but is can be slightly wiggled. My daughter’s physical therapist thought it might possibly be a ganglion cyst. The PT said I really should have the doctor check it out. I took my daughter to her pediatrician today and told him what the PT was suspecting however, the pediatrician felt it really well and said it actually felt like a dermoid cyst (although he had never seen one on the foot before). He advised me to get a second opinion and suggested having a dermatologist check it out. My daughter is severely developmentally delayed due to a neuro-genetic disorder so she is unable to walk or even stand at this point, but does use a supine stander.My questions:1. Does it sound more like a dermoid or a ganglion cyst?2. If it were a ganglion cyst, why would it happen in my daughter who is so young? 3. Would it be advisable to just leave it alone? My child is nonverbal and has a high pain tolerance so I can’t tell at this point if it bothers her.
Thank you
3 comments
Sarah
Would it be better for her to see a Podiatrist or a Dermatologist?
Vivian Abrams DPM
I would have to lean in the direction of a ganglion cyst. Although I have not seen one in a patient this young. I really would recommend you see a podiatrist or orthopedist.
Sarah
Took my daughter to see a podiatrist and he said it was NOT a ganglion cyst; however, it is some sort of soft tissue cyst but he was hesitant to aspirate it because he didn’t want to traumatize my daughter. He did take foot xrays to make sure it was coming from her bone (which it was NOT) but he said it is coming from her joint. Anyway, my daughter is scheduled to see a pediatric orthopaedic doctor in a couple of months due to other issues so we will be getting a 3rd opinion then.