I had radiation treatment about 4 years ago, but my right hand pinky has deteriorated significantly over the last 12 months and is now about 45 degrees bent. I am now looking at NA treatment and would appreciate hearing from anyone with very good or bad experiences of receiving this treatment to help me decide where to go. Paris could also be an option. Thanks.
I had radiotherapy on my hands and feet two years ago in England. Worked on the foot but not the hands and they have steadily got worse. I had NA in Paris about a month ago on my left hand and although the Doc did not manage to fully straighten my finger, he did make an improvement and feels confident he can straighten it on my return. Personally i would go to Paris and seek out the pro's.
Thanks very much for response. I also had radiation on both hands and feet . I was thinking of going to Paris, but I also notice a couple of Uk specialists trained in France? Did you consider them? Would you mind letting me know the name of the Doctor you used? Would you recommend him/her?
After researching this site, i decided Paris was the best option, indeed i will be in Paris this coming week for more treatment. Dr. Pizzuti has good feedback and i can also recommend him. You can see him privately or at the hospital. I saw him first privately but he felt it would be better at the Lariboisière hospital. This is actually better for me, as it is a short walk from the train station. In the first instance you should send some photo's of your hands. Email contact addresses are on this site and Dr Pizzuti is very prompt at replying.
Nearly a year into the treatment on my left hand, quite stable although still requires further work. My main issue is the Dup is wrapped around the nerve making it difficult to treat. I shall probably return in the New Year for another go at it.
allanbconway:I had radiation treatment about 4 years ago, but my right hand pinky has deteriorated significantly over the last 12 months and is now about 45 degrees bent. I am now looking at NA treatment and would appreciate hearing from anyone with very good or bad experiences of receiving this treatment to help me decide where to go. Paris could also be an option. Thanks.
not sure if you already went somewhere for your NA - if it's not too late yet, I'd like to share my absolutely fabulous experience with Dr. Lenze in Bielefeld, Germany.
My Dupuytren's adventures started in 2002 when I was first diagnosed. I lived in Munich, Germany, at the time.
Had NA performed by Dr. Groeben, Düsseldorf, in 2004 on the right hand, 2005 on the left hand. Both hands where stage 2 at the time, results of the treatment where very good.
I moved to the USA in 2006. Went for another round of NA on both hands in 2008. Dr. Mahoney in Peoria, IL (supposedly Eaton trained), poked around in my palm and pulled on my fingers - the results being a sorry joke, almost invisible improvement.
So in 2010, with both pinkies at stage 3, I travelled to Germany to let Dr. Groeben work on my hands again. NA went very well, but the doctor said that he couldn't make as much progress as he would have wanted to on the PIP joints, because of the severity of my contractures.
In 2012 I was at a professional congress in Florida, so I thought I could finally make an appointment with the "guru" - Dr. Eaton himself. Just to find out that he had retired, handing his practice over to Dr. Veronica Diaz. She was very eager to help, actually made good progress on both hands, and felt like my "go to person" for the future.
In 2015, hoping to experience the same treatment as before, I scheduled another two appointments with Dr. Diaz. What a disappointment! She seemed like a completely different person. Overworked, stressed out, rushed - said she couldn't do anything for me anymore. I begged her to at least improve my left hand (which was the worst at that time) just a little bit - which she reluctantly did. For the right hand she flat out refused to even look at that. Gave me some colleagues business card, said I should go there for open surgery - my only option now.
I will NOT succumb to surgery or Xiaflex - both of these do not make sense to me. So I emailed Dr. Groeben with recent pictures of my hands, asking his opinion, and whether he would be willing/able to try NA on my hands again. He replied promptly, saying that my hands could definitely be improved with NA - even at the current stage 4 - but he wouldn't be doing that, because he was retiring now.
On 11/21/2016 I had an appointment with Dr. Lenze to perform his PNF+ on my right hand. The result is a dream come true! I haven't seen my pinkie this straight in over a decade! Dr. Lenze even worked on the PIP joint, moving it from over 90° bent back to about 40° immediately. Now, two weeks later, that PIP joint has relaxed even more and is now at about 30°.
A small skin tear was covered instantly with a skin graft from the inside of my right upper arm - Dr. Lenze joked about that, saying you recognize his customers by the scar on their arm.
So, before you go to have your hands butchered somewhere, I strongly recommend you let Dr.Lenze do his magic. If you need any help, or have more questions, I'll answer
As posted many times ... Dr. Eaton did NA on my pinkie 95 degree contracture several years ago ..still near perfect ..still wear my splint each night..a pain but worth it ..so it can be done ...
Re; Dr. Diaz ...I agree with much of which you stated .. rushed ... frenzied etc....sat in examination room waiting for a LONG TIME ...
Thanks for info re Germany. I actually had NA on my little finger in Derby a couple of weeks ago. Went well. Finger went from being about 45 degrees (horizontal) to almost straight (maybe 5 degrees) and almost no skin tear, so a very good result.
250 users online
Login
