We report the outcome of a five-year follow-up after wrist arthroscopy and excision of painful dorsal wrist ganglia. The findings at the time of surgery have previously been published. Patients responded to a validated postal questionnaire regarding ganglion recurrence, wrist pain and function. None of the responding patients had recurrence of the ganglia since surgery but only one patient had remained pain free with normal function following surgery. Three of the remaining patients reported moderate to severe problems with work and four reported minimal work problems. Our findings suggest patients with arthroscopic confirmed ligament injuries leading to joint instability or localised osteoarthritis may develop functional disability but less severe injuries are unlikely to cause persistent problems in the short- to medium-term. Surgical excision of the ganglion can give lasting satisfactory cosmetic outcome despite persisting underlying ligament pathology.