Hi folks,
I find it very concerning that patients are not fully awake for PIP joint release. There are many nerves in the area of the PIP and the whole point of NA is that patients are able to comment on any discomfort. The practitioner depends completely on the patient being able to say 'that hurts' which tells him to work away from the area in question. I have had PIP release and was told to report immediately if I felt any pain.
It does appear to me that NA in the USA is far more complicated than in Europe which is very surprising as all US surgeons have been taught in Paris. Perhaps this is why the cost is so much greater in the US than in Europe.
Marjorie

Carmen,

Please stop posting to this site. You are a fake. Your posts have gone from newcomer with questions to a medical authority and enough is enough. I don't know who you are, but these are fake postings. Its gross - please stop.

Thank you, Randy, for your support. I wish I could say that I was not hurt by No Name's accusations, but I can't. However, I will ignore his comments and continue to post from time to time when I feel I can share something with all of you. I have learned a great deal from this site which I have been following for the last year.

Carmen

Randy:

As I will be seeing him tomorrow, I will ask more. I am only recounting what I remember from my initial visit back in August and, of course, the actual procedure performed last week. I was not aware that there were certain criteria necessary to be deemed *French method.*

Also, I may have a chance to talk to another of his patients at my OT's office--should our paths cross. I will ask about his NA surgery.

Maye I should post under a new topic, as the surgery is no longer in the *planned* stage.

Carmen

The name "Needle Aponeurotomy" (NA) was coined by a French MD (Lermusiaux) who developed the procedure over 30 years ago. The key element was the introduction of just the right kind of hand numbing agent so that the patient doesn't feel the direct pain of the needle but can still detect needle proximity to a nerve. At which point the patient says "STOP!"

That is not what Benhaim is doing. He apparently prefers to "see" any nerves to be avoided by "opening" the finger and seeing directly what he is doing. It will accomplish the same result, though obviously somewhat more invasive than using a 25 gauge needle but *far* less invasive than the full open surgery that removes *all* the diseased tissue.

It will be in and out with a minimum of intrusion.
It's called a "fasciotomy", rather than a fasciectomy which *removes* underlying tissue rather than just cutting it. Similar spelling, but a *big* difference. Actually NA is a form of fasciotomy called "percutaneous" fasciotomy, with the twist of patent feedback I mentioned earlier.

(Sean was the first to mention "fasciotomy" on this sight and inform us of the difference.)

All that to say.......God Speed Carmen. This should not be a big deal.