I posted most of the following on another link on this site but think that possibly by posting it again here it may give some others more appreciation of the the service that Dr. Eaton provides.

I had N/A treatment in early February by Dr. Eaton. I can not imagine even considering surgery after the incredible results. People that knew of my condition and the limited use of my right hand are amazed at the results and the proceedure. Those on this forum who are skeptical and those that are literally fear mongering about N/A treatment do a major disservice to others who are contemplating this proceedure. My first hand.... no pun intended... experience with the proceedure and Dr.Eaton left no doubt in my mind that this is the only logical course of action. When i got home, the following is what I wrote to a another couple of DC sufferers that I have been in contact with. I think it says it all....

So what can I tell you about it all? Florida is a great place to go. Expensive, crowded, lots of traffic, warm, no snow, beaches, and best yet, hand surgeon Dr.Charlie Eaton. Hell of a fine fellow.

The best way I can describe it is.... well, let me digress for a moment. The bands in the palm and fingers of my hands were very pronounced and close to the surface. Anyway, a bit of freezing into the area and Dr. Eaton starts working away with a needle. The strangest feeling...like a fairly thick rubber band being perforated with the needle. I could feel the needle hitting the band and it start to break away. Dr.Eaton put a little pressure on my index finger and there was an audible snap as the contracting tissue gave way. I could feel it snap and again the rubber band is the best description I can give. Dr. Eaton was like a "kid at Christmas" getting the job done. Absolutely no disrespect meant with that statement. In all, the first day he did 6 entry points on my right hand and in each of those spots broke away the contractures. He had a bit of a problem getting one area to break as the nerve was close to where he was working and he was concerned about hitting it. He was none too gentle with the knuckle as he tried to break the tissue by straining up on the knuckle to keep from using the needle in the area. He was apologetic about it and the knuckle was a bit uncomfortable but nothing to it other than that. A bit of blood, 6 small bandages and I went into the reception room and my wife gave me a "high five" and the palm of my hand could meet hers...flat! She says I was a grin from ear to ear. Really, the feeling of being able have full function of my hands again is incredible. No pain , no discomfort other than the knuckle. And to prove the point I went and got a case of a dozen beer and was able to use my fingers to grasp the carry handle only 2 hours after the procedure and take it from the store to the vehicle with no discomfort.
Probably not a doctor approved procedure!
Anyway, back to the hand center on Monday for the pinkie on my left hand, no big deal and it's back to near normal. He reviewed the results of the right hand and went back to the index finger and one more contracture band that wasn't visible on Friday.
I had 4 nodules on my right hand and 2 dimples. For the most part they are gone or at least diminished to the point that I first noticed them several years ago.
To say the least I am very pleased.
On the second visit I asked Dr. Eaton about his opinion of the needle procedure vs. surgery. No comparison he says and added that if it were him his choice would be NA. He added that he considers himself to be a very good surgeon and to accomplish what he did with NA using surgery, my fingers would have been "baseball park franks" for days with the swelling being up to 6 months before completely dissipating.
After the second proceedure we took an extended Florida vacation and thouroughly enjoyed ourselves. No pain, no discomfort and total use of my hands.
Think about the implications here, after reading accounts of surgery, splinting, elevation of the hands, therapy and so on, can you picture an enjoyable vacation after only a few hours after the proceedure??
My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Eaton and staff.

Way to go Ken...are you sure you are not on Dr. Eatons' pay roll?

Dr. Eaton is going to work on both of my hands next month. I have had two surgeries on my right hand, and I am thrilled that I can have NA instead. We too are making a vacation out of it. At this point I have no idea what to expect to pay Dr Eaton. I don't think my insurance company is going to cover much of the cost of this procedure.

Thanks,
Marilyn

I have had it all while fighting this disease the last 12 years. Two surgeries, 5 series of collagenase injections, NA in France(just last year), and now NA by Dr. Eaton. I must say, I don't think you could find a finer Doctor. We are very lucky to have someone of his caliber(both as a physican and a human being) to pioneer this treatment in the U.S.

I have a very agressive disease and recurrance unfortunately, appears to be inevitable for me. Dr. Eaton did an unbelievable job on my hands. He worked on four fingers and got them all straight. He even got my right hand little finger PIP back to normal. This finger was at 40 degrees for two years and collagenase and Paris NA couldn't get the job done, but Dr. Eaton did.

My experience was like most of the folks who have had NA by Dr. Eaton, so I won't elaborate on the procedure(just read the other posts.) After the procedure the pain was tolerable, a few Aleve did the trick, hands were a little sore, but I could carry my luggage just two days after NA. AND !! I was back swimming 3 days after having both hands treated! It was almost two months before I could get back to swimming after hand surgery.

The only problem with all this, is that my heath care coverage (Mid-Atlantic Health Care) denied payment for the procedure. They claimed similar treatment is available in their network (yeah right) and that NA is investigational!!!

I plan to appeal this decision so if anyone has any appeal process advice please post. In any event, I gladly pay out of my own pocket for this procedure rather than endure two surgeries, the pain, scaring, rehab, and 6 months of downtime.

Dr. Eaton gets two thumbs up from me!

Dear Juli,
Glad it went so well for you.
Did your treatment involve any of the fingers which you had surgery on? The reason I ask is that I have had one very successful NA, but it seems to be difficult to improve the little finger I had surgery on (before I discovered NA). This is also a PIP joint.