Hi,

Iv fairly recently (January 28th) had open surgery on the DIP joint of my little finger on my right hand. Operation was very successful and has healed up nicely with the only real thing left is swelling in my little finger which physio/doctor say will go down with time.

So now im mostly healed ad have gone back to doing everything as normal iv started thinking about re-occurance a little.

Now I know re-occurance varies a lot but there has been a fair amount of study into it so average for someone who has gone through open surgery seems to be 7 - 10 years.

However iv seen varies places including here mention how the disease is more aggressive the younger you get it.

I was first diagnosed and had symptons when I was 22 (now 24 but only just) and as far as I can tell this is quite early in life to show symptons. Because of this iv been wondering if there have been any studies into how age affects re-occurance times?

Cheers

Mike

Ah I see, thanks.

In that case what do people usualy mean when they say it is more aggressive in younger cases?

More aggressive contraction?

Australia Calling, Hi Mike
I was diagnosed at 35 yrs and no surgery until I was 50 Yr. I 've had 15 odd surgeries including 4 skin grafts since. I was told that knuckle pads were an indication that the disease was aggressive. However I believe that the repeat surgery was the trigger. I have spoken with Prof Seegenschmiedt in 07 when I had Radiotherapy after a repeat surgery. His advice was to be vigilant and be aware of any change in the hands. Patients wait too long. Keep a record now . Take a photostat copy of each hand. (Simply place each hand on the Photstat machine ,with a white towel over the glass , having first marked on the hand with a marker any nodules etc.)Include the date. Do the table top test every 6 mths. or so to make sure you have no contraction. At your age I believe it would be too young to consider Radiotherapy should it be an option.
Look after your hands and do regular stretching , which may extend the time frame ofany future reoccurrence.I wear gloves with any work I perform . Go to the safety equipment store for industry and have a look at the variety of gloves available. I found a cotton type ,with either double or single sided rubber facing are easy to wear and protect you hand . There does seem to be a link with injury to the hand to increase the onset.Hope this helps. Don.t let this stop you from enjoying life.
Regards .

Edited 04/03/09 10:39