I recently had a xiaflex treatment for my dupytren's contracture of the right baby finger with a
"doctor" who the next day preformed the manipulation without numbing my hand and it was extremely painful, causing me to almost pass out. I required smelling salts with my head between my knees as the pain kept coming in waves. Anyone else experience this? Not only were my cords broken, but my hand was also ripped open in a few places, as it had been fused in place for years. My middle and palm joints were involved, and my hand tore at the palm connection to the finger as well as the middle of my palm, requiring a few weeks of healing.

All of my research on YouTube shows doctors administering local pain meds by injection BEFORE the manipulation to break the cords, even on much milder cases.

What do you all say?
....and be sure to get pain blocked BEFORE you get manipulated.

No longer MrBentFingers!

Mrbentfinger,
They should have pumped you with lidocaine.I have had 4 injection and the put 2 big injections of it in mine and Lortabs to go.Wow I cant belive they put you thru that.It musta been terrible.Cave Man doctor.Dave

Edited 01/21/13 23:31

I had Xiaflex last spring. My doctor was one of the doctors who participated in the trials. The day of the manipulation, he gave me several shots of lidocaine in my hand. I had to sit for about 15 minutes for it to take effect and then he manually broke the cords. I cannot fathom having that done without numbing.

Yeah, they didn't do the numbing prior to manipulation during the trials. But that is not how it's supposed to be done now.

~ dawn

Thanks Dave,
Sorry for the missive, but I can type again, and some of you might really appreciate this.

Don't think that I don't think in reading this that i don't think xiaflex is awesome, because I do, and am so appreciative that my right hand is straight again, and so fast.

It is an awkward situation, for you don't want to complain, and seem a wuss. On the other hand, all of us with DC know that the saying "no pain no gain" does usually apply, for no matter which of the routes we take, it is incumbent upon us to do the follow-through stretching to break down the scar tissue. (With xiaflex you will now learn...even more so!) Knowing this, I'd venture to say that I have about the highest rate of success possible regardless of the procedure. That's because I work hard at it. I've had three surgeries (one re-occurance, one botched surgery). My fingers are not just straight, but bend backwards 45%. I'm a stone sculptor and builder (www.treesculpt.com) and would cut my fingers off if they got in the way for too long, and had my first surgery at 28.

But back to the stone age Doc who tortured me. This phase 2 happened last week, four and five days ago. I had to return for the second round of xiaflex, for I'd only done the palm joint (MPJ) on my torturous first run, where he ripped open my palm, and broken my cords, after various attempts, without a pain shot. On my second series of shots, (about two months later ) I knew what I was up against, and had studied YouTube films of how the docs were all adjusting Day 2 xiaflex. Except for some Swedish doc I read about somewhere recently who does the adjustment on DAY 9 after all the swelling and pain is down.

But all the ones I saw the Doctors used numbing shots before the adjusting began on Day 2, and half of them use it even before the xiaflex injections on Day 1.

So this time I was determined to do the adjustment myself, this being the middle joint of my baby finger, where skin tearing would be very minimal if at all, starting at almost 90 degrees from straight.

Day 1:
I let the doc talk, and was pretty friendly considering. I got all of my questions out of the way. I just breathed through the three injection sites (one dose) in the cord at this middle PIP joint, done in maybe a minute or even less.

Day 2:
Through the pain of the swelling and sensitivity of the injection site I began to try to stretch the cords myself, and got a few little pops but no movement by 8:30 AM. My appointment was at 11AM and my xiaflex injections at 1PM the day before. After coffee at Starbucks and two Ibupropens I broke my first big cord driving to the job site, and was elated. Then the pain washed over me and I hightailed it home a mile away to get an ice pack. In about twenty minutes the pain had gone down to a 2 from a 7-8, and I was about half straighter, like 45 degrees. It was all I could get done myself without a pain shot or two. I tried, but pain stopped me time after time. I went to the "doc" who wasn't sure we'd get much more, (I was still at about 45 degrees) and got him to shoot me up, gave him my piece of mind, and with my hand dripping blood from the pain injections I called from the hallway, "blah, blah, unconscionable....and thank you, I'll finish it myself!"

"Wow" had been all he could muster before I left.

I drove to the nearest 711 a few miles away, got some bandages, got back in my car, gathered my thoughts, and with my hand bandaged up I slowly and gently opened it up pushing it against my thigh. I broke another main cord on my first try, with zero pain and a peaceful smile on my face. I was now at about 25 degrees from straight... I knew I had a window of time to work in before the numbness would wear off, so gently manipulated my joint and applied pressure supporting the joint until it was white with no more luck.

Day 3:
Knowing that there are doctors who adjust past the 24 hour norm, I was working my joint in bed watching a movie, late AM, and pushed it to the limit...."CRACK" and I broke through more cord, and my finger now straightened to less than 10 degrees! The pain again was then pretty intense, and I was seen running through the house for an ice cube. I had also broken a blood blister at the joint, and torn some inner tissue for it hurt like a son of a gun. I massaged in Vitamin e oil which makes the skin more pliable...but i got another 15 degrees on day three!

I guess I shouldn't tell you all this, I don't mean to start a revolution...just of knowledge. My point also is that doctors do not have libraries to hide behind anymore, and we can do our own research, watch films, get educated, and hear each other. I really appreciate the forum and would also answer any other questions anyone may have. I know some of you may think I acted brashly, whereas others would have gone further....but most of us just take it from the expert. In my case he was also a torturer, and that is the last time he will ever do that.

Mrl