Thanks Sherry.

If you look at Eaton's sight:

"Needle aponeurotomy may be performed when the fingers can't be lifted from a tabletop; open surgery is reserved for contractures which prevent the palm from fully contacting a flat surface"

http://www.handcenter.org/newfile25.htm

"can't be lifted from a tabletop" is at a *very* early stage of "Stage I" (see his animated drawings). Really, all that's needed is for a cord to be pulling a finger enough so that it will snap when weakened and put under pressure by the doc. Personally I think people with early disease should be proactive and keep fingers as straight a possible. Once we have more NA surgeons are available, it will be increasingly more convenient to do that.

Yes, there will definitely be those, especially with early onset, where recurrence will eventually force the need for OS. For what percentage of people? Don't know. Eaton suspects something significantly < 50%, but we really don't know yet.

Sherry,

You say, "But anything to prevent OS sounds good to me!"

I can't understand your comment. I had 85 degrees contracture. I had a fasciectomy four years ago. My hand/finger is at 0 degrees and you can't tell that I have Dupuytren's. In the last years since my surgery I have encountered many with similar results. I have only met one person (out of about 20) who had to have a second surgery.

This blanket statement that is continually made on this forum, that fasciectomies and fasciotomies are so bad is misleading. Especially from some who have not had a fasciectomy. I am not saying that NA shouldn't be tried if that is what a person wants, but a fasciectomy by an experienced hand surgeon is not that big of a deal compared to most surgery.

Sherry,

I also had surgery about 2 years ago and you cannot tell. My fingers are straight, the surgery was no big deal. I had about 4 days after surgery that were unpleasant - I would not deny that. But, after all I have learned about dupes and the treatment options, surgery is sometimes the best solution. I believe that this is stated on Dr. Eaton's web site. But, if NA or another alternative treatment is a good option for someone, it could make sense to try that first.

But, if someone decides surgery I hope that they don't read the scare messages on this forum and decide to avoid it. The operation really was not that bad and I don't understand some of these postings where people say that they out of work for weeks or months. I've no doubt that there are some people with difficult recoveries and my heart goes out to them, but these are the rare exception.

Surgery, for all its good and bad does work and is not the curse some claim. If it was, would Dr. Eaton say that surgery may be a patients best option?