rae;

It is generally believed that NA is not suitable for the last and final stages of Dups. However, Eaton has been pushing the envelope in this regard, and so has Denkler. I would contact either of them depending on you proximity. You will need multiple NA sessions so if you want to do this, limit your time in the air. Multiple trips will be required.

NA would be less expensive than full Open Surgery, so if you want you hand back this is your best first option. I'm guessing that both of these docs would like at crack at seeing just how far NA can go.

Hi Rae,

You need to at least have a NA doctor look at it. They can decide what is the best way for you to go. Any surgeon will do the procedure, but you really want to look at NA first. It is by far less invasive and almost no recovery time.

Dr. Kline charged us $650.00 a finger. It wasn't covered by insurance. The surgery was covered, buy I didn't want to see my husband go through that if it wasn't absolutely necessary.

I don't know if you wear glasses, but having the Dupuytren's done is like getting a brand new pair of glasses, you don't realize how much you couldn't see with your old glasses until you put on the new ones. My husband didn't realize how bad his hand was, until he got it fixed. Now on a daily basis he will say "look at this" or "look what I can do now". Dr. Kline thought that my husband might need to come back for another treatment because his was so far along. We are hoping with splints and exercising the hand, that he won't need another treatment, but if he does, my husband has no problem with going back to Dr. Kline. From what I've read, the doctors on the east coast are excellent doctors too.

Sandie

Hi Steve, sorry, NA stands for Needle Aponevrotomy, this is the procedure of using a needle to break the cord that runs from the palm to the finger, which is what pulls the finger into the palm. It isn't easy to pronounce, so NA is the easy way to refer to it. The following is from the "Dupuytren'scenter.com" web site.

Please, don't be afraid to ask anything. It is all important. Sandie

Needle Aponevrotomy (NA)

NA is a non-surgical procedure for the treatment of contracted Dupuytren's cords in the hand. It is sometimes also called needle aponeurotomy or needle fasciotomy. It is minimally invasive - under local anesthetic, the physician uses a small hypodermic needle to divide and sever the contracting bands in the diseased areas of the palm and fingers. This technique was developed in Paris by Dr. Lermusiaux in the early 1950's and has been in use in France for the past 30 years. This procedure is now available to you in the US.

The effectiveness of this method is outstanding.

A friend of mine's hands were both virtually fists even though they had been operated on twice (each hand!). In spite of my doubts, he went to Dr Badois who treated him successfully enough for one hand to be pretty normal and the other, as my friend says, open enough to hold a glass! So don't despair - NA is definately worth trying.