I had Xiaflex a year ago and a night splint helps me maintaining the status. It's not a guarantee but maybe worth a try. The issue with night splinting is that the splinted joints stiffen in course of the night. Usually this goes away in the morning after moving the fingers for a while. I am using the Fixxglove for splinting but I guess any other splint will do as well.

My xiaflexed hand is a little swollen still and I have some difficulties making a fist. It works but with a little pain. I am not sure whether the swelling is due to Xiaflex. It might have other reasons.

Wolfgang

brianprice:

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My experience was not pleasant to be sure - but if I get a few more years of playing out of it and i don't immediately get a reoccurrence - it will have been worth it. We will see - it will be a few more weeks before I know.

If they could do a better job of managing the pain during the injection procedure - this wouldn't be so bad.

I think my pinkie PIP joint is messed up from being contracted so long - 5 years. I will be interested to see whether PT etc can help with that after swelling goes down and the wound heals. If I have major problems with it the Xialex treatment will have far less value than I was hoping for.

If your finger had been contracted for 5 years then your joint and bands will probably already have adapted to the contracture. don't expect miracles but keep trying to get the best result. Xiaflex can't fix a transformed joint (nobody can I guess), it helps breaking the cord that is the reason for the initial contracture.

My own procedure was fairly short and - fortunately - not painful. I only got one shot into the cord and the rest of the xiaflex was not used. Bfore the manipulation on the next day my hand was numbed, so it wasn't painful at all. Unfortuntely the cord did not break (no cracking) but probably only extended. Well it was at least worth a try and I am satisfied with the result (from maybe 35 deg to 15 deg).

BTW, the swelling of my hand is not dramatic. You can see it when you compare both hands but otherwise you wouldn't notice it. No idea what the reason is, I just mentioned it because it's the same hand.

Wolfgang

brianprice:

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I think my pinkie PIP joint is messed up from being contracted so long - 5 years. I will be interested to see whether PT etc can help with that after swelling goes down and the wound heals. If I have major problems with it the Xialex treatment will have far less value than I was hoping for.

Not really. My finger wasn't well suited for Xiaflex because it had more of a very thick nodule and the cord was not very prominent. I think the doc did the best possible and another try wouldn't make much sense.

Wolfgang

brianprice:

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Wach - it sounds like they didn't use enough Xiaflex for you. My doc used a whole bottle for the one finger. Are you thinking about going back?

Brian,

Your experience with the actual injection and manipulation sounds similar to mine. I had my Xiaflex injection in April. The doctor only injected one cord on the ring finger of my right hand, but he did it in 3 locations. It hurt like HELL. It took about 10-15 minutes. I had a two hour drive home and about halfway home I thought I was going to die. The pain was that bad. I had swelling and bruising all the way to my armpit.

By the next week, the pain was gone and I was using my hand just fine. But it took at least two months for all of the swelling to go down. I still have days when I can't wear my ring. I don't know why it's still doing that months later but it's no big deal. The contracture of that ring finger is gone and it does straighten out. My problem is that all the other fingers are contracting in toward my palm so my whole hand is still messed up. I've decided that for now, I'm not going to have any more injections.

I do wish someone locally did the NA, but they don't.

~ dawn