I am actively looking for a doctor to help me with my Dupuytren's contracture. I have called several doctor's offices up, some nearby and others farther away. While I know what I want, I am having trouble figuring out what questions to ask, or even if it is inappropriate to ask such questions.

What I don't want is to go through the cost/trouble of meeting with a hand surgeon who secretly prefers open surgery (though I can see why they might) but says they can - at least in some circumstances - release a contracture with a needle. I suspect that there are such doctors around and I just want to give resolving my contracture with a needle every reasonable chance.

Here's what I think I want to ask:

It is my understanding that the use of a needle, rather than a scalpel, for fasciotomy substantially reduces risk of complications, reduces costs, and improves recovery time, though possibly also increasing the potential for recurrence of the contracture.

About how many Dupuytren’s cases does Doctor X see each year?
About what percentage of those Dupuytren’s cases does Doctor X successfully treat using a needle versus a scalpel?

BobL:

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I am actively looking for a doctor to help me with my Dupuytren's contracture. I have called several doctor's offices up, some nearby and others farther away. While I know what I want, I am having trouble figuring out what questions to ask, or even if it is inappropriate to ask such questions. .......

Thanks,

BobL

Edited 03/24/21 03:50

I just realized a slight ambiguity in my proposed wording:

It is my understanding that the use of a needle, rather than a scalpel, for fasciotomy substantially reduces risk of complications, reduces costs, and improves recovery time, though possibly also increasing the potential for recurrence of the contracture.


About how many Dupuytren’s cases does Doctor X see each year?
About what percentage of those Dupuytren’s cases does Doctor X successfully treat using a needle versus a scalpel?

Here's the problem: I am not particularly interested in the XIAFLEX treatments (because of their cost and my impression of the success rate of that approach as opposed to NA/PNF. But XIAFLEX is most certainly marketed as "minimally invasive" and could also be considered a way to treat a Dupuytren contracture "with a needle". Not quite what I am looking for.

That's the kind of thing that I was hoping someone on this forum might point out.

Anyway, I guess that I'll need to refine my wording to specifically say NA/PNF.

BobL

Dear BobL

spanishbuddha made a very good point: this world is NOT CHEAP !... and any advice which might be cheap is probably deceiving you or others - CHEAP ADVERTISING governs many aspects of our life and unfortunatey even MEDICINE !

You have to throw your HEART, SOUL and BODY into someone's ARMS. THOUGHTS and BRAIN to get the right approach to yourself and your specific problem. Your FUTURE TREATMENT does not only require the APPROPRIATE OPTIMAL TECHNIQUE (which may be even performed by an anonymous machine" but even more so on AN INDIVUAL WELL TRAINED & EXPERIENCED PHYSICIAN as a RELITABLE PERSONALITY WHOM YOU CAN TRUST .... livelong, as your two hands and eventuall your feet are to precious to be thrown under a cheap knife, a cheap injection or undefined X-rays.

And beyond the search of an appropriate WORDING and receipt of good COUNSELLING an optimal medicine also requires a GOOD BLESSING for the practicing doctor and the patient - a gift which cannot be bought in this WORLD

My current conclusion from this THREAD for you:

Hopefully you will find the best way to approach your aleady complicated pathway burdened by doubts and hesitation.
Maybe you will now read my advice "TO TREAT or NOT TO TREAT - THAT IS THE QUESTION" in the Practice Guidebook

Yours sincerely. Prof. Dr. med. M. Heinrich Seegenschmiedt

Prof.Seegenschmiedt:

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BobL:

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I am actively looking for a doctor to help me with my Dupuytren's contracture. I have called several doctor's offices up, some nearby and others farther away. While I know what I want, I am having trouble figuring out what questions to ask, or even if it is inappropriate to ask such questions. .......

Thanks,

BobL

Good Day for You, BobL

In case your fingers have not yet shown any contracture ( e.g. maximal contracture 10 degree) the use of radiotherapy is still another good option to treat; thus, also an experienced radiation oncologist or therapist may provide a solution for you ...

And if only ONE FINGER has a significant contracture (above 45 degree) , but the other fingers NO CONTRACTURE the solution might be a COMBINED APPROACH, namely minimal invasive RELEASE of the finger plus prophylactic radiotherapy for this finger plus whole hand palm with onl ONE RT SERIES.

So, overall, do not forget to consider RADIOTHERAPY as a treatment option; and if you like you may ask me via E-mail and eventually receive a special medical video consultation with full disease assessment of all your four extremities and broad discussion of the available treatment options from me :prof.seegenschmiedt@gmail.com

Wish you all the best with your (unknown) disease condition and right choices and finally success,
Prof. Dr. med. M. Heinrich Seegenschmiedt

Edited 04/14/21 21:38

I live in central VA but am on a trip to Atlanta right now. I did a consult with Dr. Michael Gottschalk at Emory yesterday. He seemed to have a lot of experience with NA and seemed to know what he was talking about, so I decided to take a chance on him. So I have an NA with him scheduled for my left ring finger tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes, and I'll also ask him if he would like to be added to the NA doc list on this site. (Assuming he does not screw up my hand, lol!)

I have also had treatment with Dr. Pess and he is definitely one of the leaders in NA in this country, so I don't think you could go wrong there. Given the fairly simple procedure I need to have done this time, I decided I did not want to make the trip to NJ again if I could avoid it. But if I had a contraction at a very difficult site I would certainly go to Dr Pess.

Edited 04/15/21 01:33