My hand surgeon has implied that he has to correct many of the French opperations that have gone wrong and they should have had surgery in the first place and has told me not to wast my time.
Any comments would be appreciated.
Howard

Howard:

The track record for NA Vs Traditional Invasive Surgery is listed below. This info was taken from the following French site:

http://www.dupuytren.org/html/gbsommaire.html
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IS NEEDLE APONEVROTOMY DANGEROUS?

Percutaneous fasciotomy has been criticized by many surgeons for putting patients at risks.

However, we have proved that accidents are very rare.

Within our twenty years' practical experience, only five flexor tendon ruptures and very few severe collateral nerve damage have been recorded (about 1 for 2000 hands).

Minor adverse events were as follows : cracks and breaks of skin, early recurrences, minor infections, tingling of the finger and hoematoma.


On the other hand, surgical treatment is reported as causing serious damage: severed nerves (5%), deep necrosis (2%), severed arteries (2%) and sympathetic reflex dystrophy (2%).

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American hand surgeons seem to assume that the traditional surgery they perform is irreplaceable. Though today's surgery is a highly refined and perfected version of the original first performed in France nearly 200 yeas ago, it' still just as invasive. In spite of the above statistics and the overwhelming success of Dr. Eaton (FL) who was trained in France, the insistence of American surgeons that the "needed treatment doesn't work" is about as ignorant as saying the Earth Is Flat. Apparently these guys could see a picture of the Earth from space and conclude that it's a fake.

In previous posts on the Lariboisiere web site, unfavorable
outcomes were ascribed to: advanced contractures and to
non-compliant patients who resumed strenuous hand activity
immediately. Another category was PIP joint involvement.
The innervation to the palm is relatively large in diameter;
the finger nerves are smaller. The 25 guage needle can penetrate nerve "bundles" with minimal damage. Smaller
nerves and/or nerve bundles may evidence more dysthesia
or parathesia (pain or partial loss of sensation) on a
temporary or permanent basis. I think that the larger category of "unfavorable outcomes" involving "rupture"
are tendons that may have been chronically inflamed and
after NA, the patients resumed jack-hammering or something
similar within a few days of treatment. The doctors are
well-trained and experienced. They obtain informed consent.
The risk is similar to a dental visit involving anesthetic
injections. Incidentally, that is a "blind" procedure also.
Fortunately, four years of post graduate education minimizes
the likelihood of traumatc consequences. Read about the NA
procedure, meet a practioner, get comfortable and have
Dupe treated.

If we were able to fond someone that was not pleased with NA
or lost feeling in a finger would that make a difference ?

The ease of NA and the fact that it can be repeated if needed together with the traumatic old fashioned palm incision and zigzag incisions in each finger golowed by splints and the requiring physical therapy make the
choice obvious.

There are many horror stories about surgery resulting in useless and disfigured hands from the knife it seems unlikely that the needle procedure could produce that degree of deformity.

I went to my hand surgeon yesterday for a check up, and I also brought all of the information on the NA with me and discussed it with him. He said he has other patients that have brought it up too. He did what I expected, and told me of all the dangers of the procedure, and how it was not the accepted treatment in his field, in this country. He told me of all the things that could happen with this Blind treatment. I don't know what else I expected. I hoped, I guess that he would be open to it, but he was not. I just hope in the next few years, these doctors will come to learn more, and begin to use NA as the regular treatment for this disease. They are still in the dark ages with this.