Training in France

French experts in NA offer medical doctors training in needle aponeurotomy. To our knowledge this training is free of charge and we view this as an excellent opportunity to learn from those experts and their years of experience. The training is provided by a non-profit organization headed by Dr. Jean-Luc Lermusiaux. For more information please contact

Viggo Petersen Center - Lariboisiere Hospital
6, rue Guy Patin - 75 010 Paris - France
Phone : +33 / 1 / 49 95 63 06
www.dupuytren.org

 

Literature and Links

A good overview on the NA technique, associated success rates and risks, and recurrence rates compared to surgery is given in a paper by Lermusiaux et al of 1997 dup_lermusiaux_page1 and dup_lermusiaux_page2 (complete text, provided with permission by Dr. Lermusiaux).

Analyzing 100 patients Foucher et al. find a recurrence rate of 58 % after a mean follow-up of 3.2 years (recurrence defined as the need of another treatment). They conclude " The ideal indication for this simple and reliable technique is an elderly patient with a bowing cord and predominant MP contracture". G. Foucher, J. Medina, and R. Navarro "Percutaneous needle aponeurotomy: complications and results" The Journal of Hand Surgery: Journal of the British Society for Surgery of the Hand 28 (2003) p 427-431. Abstract.

A wealth of literature on Dupuytren's contracture, not just on NA, is cited on handcenterlit. FAQs on NA are answered on NA_FAQ.

Walt Stagner has a place in the hall of fame for pioneering NA in the US. As a patient he had taken a video of his French NA and distributed it in the US. An innovative approach that successfully motivated doctors to offer NA. Walt's site offers his own experience, testimonials from patients, explanation of Dupuytrens, and a lot of related links.

A comparison of NA and hand surgery (limited fasciotomy) concludes that in the short term and in cases with a contracture of 90 degrees or less NA is a good treatment alternative to surgery, specifically in stages I and II (van Rijssen AL et al. "A comparison of the direct outcomes of percutaneous needle fasciotomy and limited fasciectomy for Dupuytren's disease: a 6-week follow-up study" The Journal of hand surgery, Vol. 31 (5), p 717-725).

Patients from the UK might be interested in publications by NICE, e.g. NApublic and NAguidance.

A lot of the original French literature is listed on Frenchlit. The above cited paper by Foucher et al. is available on the Internet as abstract.

Page last modified: 04/18/2008