well being 7 1/2 weeks post op I have some real mixed emotions on the OS just done. I am still very sore,stiff and still have inflamation in the PIP. I did not expect this. I am out of physiacl therapy. I am constantly working the hand flexsion and extension and splinting at night. WOW trying to make a fist after 8 hours in a splint is very tough. Dr. said the inflamation in the PIP would be slow leaving. I am going to Dr. Hildreth next Thur for a consultation for NA. I don't think I can go through another carving anytime soon. I think the OS hand will heal in time.....but man 2 months of pain and discomfort is taking its toll. I know I am contradicting my original post but after constant research I found Dr. Hildreth in the Houstion area verses flying to FL renting car, hotel and expenses. I am 4 hrs drive time away. I think I will do the NA again and hope to get a decent release and wait on new treatment on the horizon.

Best of luck to fellow DC'ers..............

jwag4646,

My guess is that you "didn't expect this" because your CHS down played the possible difficulty of recovery. It's true that everyone responds differently to this assault on their hand, but generally it's the pits. Very simply, OS should be reserved for cases where NA is untenable. This is only because OS has a lower (or slower) rate of recurrence than NA. Otherwise NA is either equivalent or superior.

The other fact in your case is that OS on the PIP is a somewhat different matter than OS on the MCP. Much easier recovery and less time under the knife. However, in an effort to minimize recurrence, OS *always* includes the removal of all diseased Dups tissue in the palm. This shredding of the palm creates most of the swelling in the finger joints in proximity. If you have only very localized disease then there will be less trauma needed. My guess is that you had a lot of disease in your palm that got removed, hence greater trauma and longer recovery.

These "OS Only" CHS all know this. That's why there is so much interest in the FDA trials of Collegenase. They know darn well that an alternative to OS would benefit their patients. And yet there is NA staring them in the face. When they turn a blind eye to it their unsuspecting new patients are lambs being subjected to a possibly unnecessary slaughter. Eaton suspects that >50% of all new patients will never need OS, NA being sufficient to the end of their days.

May that be the case with you "going forward" as we now say.

TrevB:

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This is diseased tissue we are dealing with and poking around with a needle for release is a temporary fix

This is one of the things that I remember Dr Goode touching upon before we agreed to go ahead with radiotherapy in Poole. If you're not one of the lucky ones (mild case) and you don't try to deal with this asap then you're just fire-fighting with already diseased tissue.

Apologies for hijacking your thread, I hope that you get the answers you need and then that the surgeries go well and work for you.

Cambidgeshire, UK.