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exercises for after surgery
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05/23/2003 23:26
Sean 
05/23/2003 23:26
Sean 
exercises

Kenny,
That is great that you have experienced the benefit of good hand therapy.
Good luck,

05/24/2003 23:49
terry 
05/24/2003 23:49
terry 
~dq~exercise after surgery~dq~

Hi new here but no to DC have had surgry in both hands rt hand twice left just a while back.Have read a little about getting back to normal quicker but since i had my whole left palm worked on am struggling with getting back to my usal self. Having had less surgery on the rt am fairly well informed about what i should be doing and what i shouldn't but man it's taking it's time.
Am one of 3boys who's father also is crippled with DC strange it just got me and started when i was 15yrs old am 41 now.
? what worked for you if you had whole hand surgery
?time frame it took to heal
read earlier about bad surgery which i had the first time it sucked and was corrected by another surgeon wished i'd have know this was here then.
Spelling sucks sorry terry NYC

05/25/2003 23:52
arri bachrach

not registered

05/25/2003 23:52
arri bachrach

not registered

Hypertrohic scar

had surgery a week ago...... what is NA?

thanks

Arri Bachrach

08/11/2003 23:35
Andrea

not registered

08/11/2003 23:35
Andrea

not registered

Hypertrohic scar

Hi my name is andrea. August 22 2002 i was in a major car wreck and had my spleen removed. i was cut sraight down my stomach and ended up being a hypertrohic scar with 25 staples. It changed dramaticly and i havent been the same since its almost been a year since the wreck and thursday august 14th ill be haivng it removed. im so excited and scared at the same time if anyone can give me advice on what to expect and how things might turn out e-mail me asap.. i would to hear from you. Andrea Va

08/12/2003 23:40
Randy

not registered

08/12/2003 23:40
Randy

not registered

Do The Work!!

The main thing you want to accomplish after DC surgery is RANGE OF MOTION. Strength will return in time, but all the hand strength in the world will not move fingers that don't have flexibility. Once your wounds are closed, use a basin of hot water to loosen up the joints, ligaments, and tendons and do the Work. By Work, I mean get your hand as close to a fist as possible and then straighten. As much as you can stand it FORCE THE FINGERS toward the fist. Don't push too hard. It's all about repetition.

Use your Vicoden to help get the job done. Add Ibuprofen. (Frankly, in my case a little morphine would have been nice). Yell, scream, play loud Rock music and have a glass of wine or two....but do the Work. After a few months reduced pain and swelling will make the Work easier.

After the Work, if you can't straighten out the finger(s), use your splint to help. Light pressure at first, then crank the finger(s) as straight as you can. I've gotten to be a real pro after FOUR months of this, three times a day. How many more months? I wish I knew. My therapist was impressed at how well I had dome the Work and said I'd eventually have a very good outcome because of it.

Come on FDA. Let's get Phase III going!!!!!!!!!!! 'cause if you think I'm going to do this again, I've got some swamp land I'd like to talk to you about.

08/13/2003 23:31
jay

not registered

08/13/2003 23:31
jay

not registered

NA

Randy, the solution is NA. Painless, quick and inexpensive.

08/13/2003 23:47
Randy

not registered

08/13/2003 23:47
Randy

not registered

Thanks Jay

Thanks Jay.

Actually I was using my true experience to make a not so subtle point to those considering first-time surgery:

DON'T.

Yes, I am optimistic about the prospect of collagenase injections. Seemingly more so than many on this site. However, should the need arise before the injections are approved, I'm a definite for Paris!

08/20/2003 23:26
Grant

not registered

08/20/2003 23:26
Grant

not registered

Successfull surgery

I had surgery on my left hand in Dec 02. Middle finger was PIP at 70 degrees and index finger was 30 degrees. I had a hand surgeon perform the operation. I came out of surgery (local plus a mild sedative which I remember nothing) and had no recovery problems. I was in a cast which essentially went to my elbow. After 1 week the cast was removed and the stitches were examined, but not removed. I was given the name of a PT and told to immediately start therapy. Since my stiches were not removed at this time, the PT visit was just some general massage of tissue and fitting of my nightime splint. 2 weeks after surgery my stiches were removed and I continued PT at 2 times per week. I did PT for (8) weeks and then was cleared by the doctor and the therapist to go live my life.

It's now been almost 9 months and my left hand is 98% of normal. No pain, good movemnet, no reacurrance of nodules. I use my hand as I previously did before getting DC. Overall the surgery was fairly easy to tolerate. I never used the Vicadin, only Ibuprofen since it controlled the pain just fine...and then I only needed it for a few days. My doctor gave me no promise as to how long this will last, but he did indicate that it may return in time.

Would I do it again? Yes. In fact, my right hand is now about in the same condition as my left when I had the surgery....so I'm planning on having my right hand done in a month or so, by the same doctor.

I know that only time will tell how effective the surgery will ultimately be. For now, I'm very happy.

08/20/2003 23:03
Mary Beth

not registered

08/20/2003 23:03
Mary Beth

not registered

Dupuytrens Sufferers United

Grant,
Congratulations on your successful surgery. I am
happy that it has worked out for you. I think sometimes it
appears that I am completely against surgery, but that is
too broad of a description. I am against any further surgery
for my husband, who has not done well with it. Also have
advised immediate family members to avoid it. However, as
Richard and I have posted in the past, we know two individ-
uals, who had one surgery, no or mild recurrence and were
also happy. It may be the right route for some. What we
are in favor of are alternatives and solid information for
dupuytrens sufferers because in addition to the two people
that we know who had good results, we know others who did
not. I think the difference between good results and bad
may lie anywhere between strong recurrence factors versus
mild recurrence factors, and/or how each individual's body
scars. My husband develops bad scar tissue, but other's
don't. We think that all
sufferers should be given plenty of options, information
about each, and then be allowed to make an informed choice.
Good luck with the upcoming surgery on your right hand.
As you stated, only time will tell how effective it will
ultimately be, but I wish you only the best.
Mary Beth

09/04/2003 23:17
Daniel

not registered

09/04/2003 23:17
Daniel

not registered

unsuccessful surgery

My husband and I are missionaries in Paraguay, South America. He has DC of both hands, and nodules on the feet. Five dfferent doctors (some were family physicians, one orthopedic, one plastic surgeon with specialty in hands) recommended he have surgey. We put it off for awhile, as there wasn't a surgeon with much experience in it in this country. We recently heard of a German Dr. who grew up and trained here, then spent 5 years in Germany specializing in hands. He has done this surgery many times. My husbands pinky was classifed at Stage 2. He had surgery almost 4 weeks ago. Mild stretching was recommended, as tolerated, then more agressive deep massage and hand exercising (sqeezing and stretching) after the stitches were removed, along with using lotion on the sight. At the tme of the stitch removal, we were alarmed that the suture lines looked so prominent, and that the pinky didn't seem much better, with it being swollen and stiff. He told us that there was "hypertrophy", and excess scar tissure, and that the deep massage would help and would also desensitize the scar. Now, the scar is looking better, but there are new dimples or pits appearing in 3 locations around the surgical sight, and there are several places that there seems to be hard, long bands beside and around the palm scar. The pinky is still very tingly, swollen, and pulling down more. The ring finger also seems to be starting to pull down a little. His mobiblity is worse than before, and he didn't have shooting pains before. We go see the Dr. again next week (1 week and 1 day post op). We wonder if the disease hasn't come back even worse. We are from New York State, and are wondering if any one knows of a good doctor in that area that has experience with this. We are concerned that if we wait too long, that even more ground will be lost. We had only read some textbook material on Dupuytrens before the surgery, so we thought we were doing the right thing, but now we wonder. Any advice or information will be appreciated!

Thank you!
Peggy

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