Just wanted to share my recent experience with RT in Essen, Germany. After much research, primarily from this site, I learned about Essen and Dr. Seegenschmidt, and was able to contact the RT department there and set up an appointment for treatment after sending photos and a description of my Dupuytren stage.

I was examined by Dr. Oppenkowski, and received a 5-day schedule of sessions. I will be returning to Germany for my second round in 3 months. I chose to go with the two 5-days of treatment with 3 months in between simply because of my own schedule. Everyone was very friendly. Ms. Giebels and Dr. Oppenkowski were very helpful in answering all of my questions and in making sure everything went smoothly, from scheduling, to handling paperwork, to receiving the treatment.

The treatment each day lasted only a few minutes and was painless. So far there has been no noticeable redness or dryness, but from all I’ve read I expect to possibly see these symptoms later. Even though Dr. Oppenkowski said I shouldn’t notice any benefit this soon, I believe that my hand is noticeably less tight and less painful than before the procedure.

Besides possible redness and dryness, the side-effects they mentioned that could possibly occur were with these RT sessions are: less than 1% increased chance of cancer of the treated area, as well as less than 1% increased chance of leukemia. These possible risks are mentioned in Dr. Seegenschmidt’s book as well. I also asked about possible risk with future children, and was told there was at least a month minimum wait (6 months recommended) after the final treatment before my wife and I should consider any more children. These risks and side-effects are of course all based on my questions and my reading, so please, make your own assessment. I was also advised to limit mechanical and physical stress to the treated area of my hand for 2-3 weeks following the treatment.

As a side note, I stayed in Werden, a nice suburb of the more urban Essen. Werden was only three and a half miles from the hospital and filled with restaurants, bakeries and shops, and an overall very pleasant location. It was located on the bus route that took me to a tram station that dropped me within 3 blocks of the hospital on the one day I did not have a car. In my experience, Werden is not an area frequented by many English-speaking visitors. Everything is in German, from bus routes, train routes, to restaurant menus. Many people spoke English, but only a very little. I was able to get by with the kindness of strangers, sign language, and notes.

To sum it up, I am very optimistic with the way the treatment has gone so far. My last RT session was 5 days ago, and my hand continues to feel less tight, less painful. I was also extremely pleased with my overall experience in Germany at the Krupp Hospital with Dr. Oppenkowski. As the weeks go by I will post updates with any changes.

Diana-


Dr. O. examined my hand manually, he did not perform a CAT scan. I did not inquire about his actual years of experience, but he mentioned that he saw many, many patients at my stage of Dupuytrens. He did come across to me as an extremely knowledgeable veteran in this field.



Thanks,
Alan

Alan, from what you say you were driving. Did the treatment make it uncomfortable to drive after your stay in Essen? I go at the end of the month for my first week and was wondering whether it is better to go by train? Thanks for the tip about Werden. I will look into accommodation there.

Hugh

I had my radiation in USA with electron beam and I drove my self to and from daily No Problem