Drs. Denkler & Benhaim as a Team |
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- 08/14/2007 09:32
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08/27/2006 23:03
Mark D.not registered
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08/27/2006 23:03
Mark D.not registered
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Drs. Denkler & Benhaim as a Team
Greetings Fellow DD Sufferers:
At least for those of us in California, we have much to be grateful for.
Specifically, we should be thankful that we have two wonderful Golden State Certified Hand Surgeons, both of whom happen to be good guys.
To my knowledge, I'm the first of us to have the privilege of having both of these Docs on my team.
My story follows…
When I first learned about N.A. (on this site), I knew that I wanted to try N.A. (as opposed to “open surgery”).
Because Dr. Keith Denkler’s name was the one I first saw on this site, I made an appointment & planned a trip to San Francisco to see him.
After I set the appointment with Dr. Denkler, I learned (again, from this site) that Dr. Prosper Benhaim of UCLA also has experience with N.A.
Although I had already set in motion the NA wheels with Dr. Denkler, I somewhat sheepishly set an appointment with Dr. Benhaim. After all, I live in Orange County, so it’s a lot easier to get to LA than to San Fran.
Thus, as it turned out, my initial appointment was with Dr. Benhaim in Los Angeles.
Benhaim was terrific – friendly, bright, concerned. That’s what I needed, because I was scared, scared, scared.
When I told Dr. Benhaim that I had already contacted Dr. Denkler, Dr. Benhaim proceeded to praise Dr. Denkler. Benhaim said that he did not want to discourage me from seeing Dr. Denkler, and offered to serve as my “local” CHS.
Dr. Benhaim then sent his report to Dr. Denkler. That was great, because it gave me a head start on the N.A. even before I saw Keith Denkler.
Then on 8/16/06 I showed up at Dr. Denkler’s door (in Marin County) for my NA.
Wow! Another terrific guy – gregarious, respectful, even fun to talk with.
After my NA procedure, I almost went back to Keith’s office to invite him to lunch.
And, you know what? Had I done so, I really think Keith would have taken the time to dine with my wife Julie & me. Maybe next time we're up North!
Regarding the N.A. itself, I’m very pleased with the results. It hurt a bit when Dr. Denkler injected the local anesthetic & some Kenalog (a form of cortisone). Other than that, it was fine – just some crunchy noises when Dr. Denkler snapped the Dupuytren's cords.
Incidentally, my primary N.A. was for a contraction in both the PIP joint (i.e., the second joint) & the first joint of the ring finger in my right hand.
Dr. Denkler also did a “small N.A.” for a cord that was developing near the thumb on my left hand.
Last Friday (8/16) I trundled back to UCLA to see Dr. Benhaim for a post-N.A. evaluation.
Dr. Benhaim said my hands look great.
Here’s the bottom line: if you’re in California, you have two terrific Docs here to serve you.
I highly recommend both Denkler & Benhaim.
If you’re really lucky (like I am), you’ll have both of these superstars on your team.
Mark
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11/08/2006 23:46
Mark Dnot registered
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11/08/2006 23:46
Mark Dnot registered
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Dr. Benhaim - Update
Hi Y'all:
Just a quick update...
Yesterday I saw Dr. Benahim for another follow-up evaluation.
He said my post-N.A. hands are doing great. Thank God I went for N.A., rather than for Open Surgery!
Dr. B. also said that he has done "many more" N.A. procedures at UCLA in the last few months.
We're lucky to have such a great guy leading the N.A. charge for those of us who live in Southern CA.
Mark
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11/08/2006 23:38
KurtKnot registered
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11/08/2006 23:38
KurtKnot registered
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Doctors of NA
Thanks for sharing your story Mark. I had surgery on my right hand 5 years ago for Dups and now its in my left hand. I'm not at a point of having surgery, but this time I am going to do NA. I'm here in Phoenix, so a trip to CA might happen. I have an appointment with my doc here in January and will decide at that point. My doc is a great surgeon because he did a great job on my right hand, but I don't want OS next time.
Thanks again for the recommendation.
KurtK
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11/09/2006 23:28
Mike Snot registered
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11/09/2006 23:28
Mike Snot registered
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Dr. Denkler
54 year old male with 90 degree left pinkie PIP contracture. First detected bend some 7-9 years ago. Slowly but surely getting more pronounced over time. Been following this Board for over a year. Not good with medical interventions. Self-diagnosed DC, confirmed by GP, double-confirmed by hand surgeon/orthopedist. No family history, alcohol, diabetes, or known trauma. Finally took the plunge and flew up to SF (live in LA) on 11-3 to have NA performed by Dr. Denkler. Dr. Denkler and his wife (Dr. Hudson, an internist who also provides support to Dr. Denkler) were both extremely gracious and hositable to my wife and I. 30 minute consult follwed by 20-30 minute procedure. Perhaps 5-10 anasthesia injections which were painful but not unbearable (RX pain relief offerred but declined). The cutting of the chords itself is painless. Excellent release achieved. Probably 15-30 degrees. Post-Op care consisted of dressing plus elevation for the first 48 hours, followed by physical therapy (started) splinting (night only so far), etc. Considerable healing, inprovement in range of motion, etc. achieved in first week. Still some swelling and tenderness. Overall, very happy with the results thus far. Thanks to all who keep this Board going - Randy-Wolfgang-Mark D-Frances-and all the others.
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11/09/2006 23:41
Randy H. not registered
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11/09/2006 23:41
Randy H. not registered
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Go Denkler!!
That's great to hear Mike! Congrats. Who else there is to thank are a ton of names from old posts who worked hard to get NA accepted in the US starting *five* years ago. Walt Stagner especially, as it was on his little DVD that Eaton first saw French NA. That was the beginning of the beginning in the US. We are all the beneficiaries of that moment about three years ago now.
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11/10/2006 23:10
Mark D.not registered
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11/10/2006 23:10
Mark D.not registered
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Thanks to Kurt & Mike
Kurt & Mike:
Thanks for the kind words.
It's wonderful to know that in some small way I've helped pay back the debt I owe to Randy H., Wolfgang, SuzieQ, Marjorie, & the others who participate on this Website.
Those are the people who set me on the path to learning about N.A. in general & to finding two great CA Docs in particular.
As you know, I have the greatest respect for Drs. Denkler & Benhaim. Together, they have made incredible contributions to giving me back the use of my hands.
We're really blessed to have these Docs pushing the envelope for us.
Mark
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11/11/2006 23:14
chucknot registered
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11/11/2006 23:14
chucknot registered
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contact info
could you please forward Dr Benhaim's contact information--- and confirm the spelling of his name. Thanks for the help---chuck
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11/11/2006 23:43
Wolfgangnot registered
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11/11/2006 23:43
Wolfgangnot registered
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Dr. Benhaim
You can find Dr. Benhaim's contact data on
http://www.dupuytren-online.info/needle_aponeurotomy.html
or in the regular posts from Suzie on this forum (just scroll down until you find an updated list of NA doctors).
Wolfgang
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11/11/2006 23:55
chucknot registered
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11/11/2006 23:55
chucknot registered
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contact info
could you please forward Dr Benhaim's contact information--- and confirm the spelling of his name. Thanks for the help---chuck
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11/12/2006 23:24
Mark Dnot registered
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11/12/2006 23:24
Mark Dnot registered
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Dr. Benhaim~sq~s Contact Info
Chuck:
Here is Dr. B's info:
Dr. Prosper Benhaim, M.D. Geffen School of Medicine - UCLA 100 Medical Plaza Suite 755 Los Angeles CA 90095-6902
Phone: 310-206-4468 E-mail: pbenhaim@mednet.ucla.edu Fax: 310-206-0063
Let us know how your consultation goes.
Mark
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- Locked
- 08/14/2007 09:32
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