Hi everyone,

I am currently lined up to have surgery on my right hand next month - in fact the second lot of surgery to help improve the contracture again in my little finger and now in my middle finger. The little finger will need some skin grafting to help with second lot of surgery. I only had the first lot of surgery done 18 months ago and my little finger is right over again, almost at 90 degrees to my palm! This problem is the pits!

I have since discovered that there is now an injection available called the Xiaflex injection which is supposed to be very effective for dupuytrens disease. Problem is that i am not sure whether it is on offer here in the UK so i am hoping that maybe someone can advise me as i urgently require some treatment but hoping that the invasive traditional surgery can be avoided?

Please, any advice will be welcomed as i cannot face this surgery again as last time i was in bandages for over 5 weeks and got an infection, just to discover that 18 months later it has all returned and has been a complete waste of time.

Incidently i was told that the 'needles method' was not appropiate for me due to the fact that my palms were affected AND my fingers thus fingers being pulled towards palm at two angles! I am 45years of age and have been told that i have it particularly bad - just hope that it doesn't spread to my feet................and to other place that was suggested! lol!

Cheers everyone for all your time and help and look forward to any advice that you may be able to offer?

Kind reagrds,

Simon (UK)

Get your information on Needle Aponeurotomy only from doctors who actually perform the procedure. Conventional hand surgeons don't really understand NA and tend to be excessively negative about it.

LubaM.:

---

when I mentioned radiotherapy they were horrified, the only thing they offered was surgery.

@NEWOSA65:

---

Hi everyone,

I am currently lined up to have surgery on my right hand next month - in fact the second lot of surgery to help improve the contracture again in my little finger and now in my middle finger. The little finger will need some skin grafting to help with second lot of surgery. I only had the first lot of surgery done 18 months ago and my little finger is right over again, almost at 90 degrees to my palm! This problem is the pits!

Please, any advice will be welcomed as i cannot face this surgery again as last time i was in bandages for over 5 weeks and got an infection, just to discover that 18 months later it has all returned and has been a complete waste of time.

Edited 05/16/10 19:23

@NEWOSA65:

---

Has anyone heard of Chris Bainbridge from Derbyshire? Apparantly i have been advised to go along and see him under a private consultation which costs £125. I think however i will need to see my GP first before i go ahead - is that something that one has to do before making a private consultation? I am hoping that he will be able to help me with the contractures using the NA... if he can help i will change my current Surgeon in Norwich and have any procedures done hopefully on NHS?

@NEWOSA65:

---

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all your help and support.

I too was told that my contractures were beyond the stage of NA and so went ahead with the surgery 18 months ago. I had my little finger corrected - had two contractures, one at base of little finger (ie., in palm just below little finger and other contracture in little finger between base and first joint of little finger! Both parts were operated on and i thought that the worst was behind me! However, 12 months later i began to notice a thickening again in original affected areas but still not sure whether it is dupytrons or the thickening of the scar tissue from the invasive surgery that i had done? And when i asked my surgeon he wasn't sure either!

Anyway, as i mentioned in my first post, i have that problem currently going on (little finger is now at 90 degrees to palm) and also since the operation, my middle finger has now become affected in the same parts as my little finger! And i cannot believe how quickly it is being pulled over. The hard tissue has thickened so much under the palm and middle finger, and i find in incredible how quickly this disease takes hold!

Has anyone heard of Chris Bainbridge from Derbyshire? Apparantly i have been advised to go along and see him under a private consultation which costs £125. I think however i will need to see my GP first before i go ahead - is that something that one has to do before making a private consultation? I am hoping that he will be able to help me with the contractures using the NA... if he can help i will change my current Surgeon in Norwich and have any procedures done hopefully on NHS?

I am lined up to have the invasive surgery done in September - was due next month but i decided to postpone as i want a second opinion before i make any big decisions as it takes a long time to get over the big ops and i hate the idea of having the surgery done especially if i can get over it without excessive upset and trauma!!!!

Thanks again for all your help and advice... just sorry to know that all you nice folks have this awful problem too.

Cheers,

Simon
ps., have the dupytrons in my left hand as well - my little finger is at 90 degress but luckily the contracture is not in palm as yet... just in little finger, bad enough though!!