I primarly so far have DC in my fingers, one lump removed from my pinky w/ OS. and I have a soft lump under my ring finger that I have had since I was 25 years old. ( I am now 36yrs old) My surgery was earlier this year and had difficulty w/ scar tissue and lost feeling in part of my finger and it is back to contracting down along with my ring finger ( it started contracting in March) I do now have 2 small lumps down my ring finger cord. I have already sent in pictures to Dr Eaton and Terri in his office said I am not ready yet but to continue to send photos. My question is, is it harder to get NA treatment in the fingers?? and how rare is it for this disease to start in fingers verse the -palm?? I have visit scheduled w/ my hand doctor on June 21st. I have lost a lot of strength now in my left hand (am left handed) and the hard scar tissue in my pinky is a concern. Anyone out there that can pass on info? Thanks, J Ann

J Ann:

First, NA only can do *one* thing, and that is to weaken a discernible chord in the finger or the palm that has caused a sufficient contraction. The contraction must be enough so the doctor can then stretch the palm/finger back to normal and sever the weakened cord. The plus side is this creates no scar tissue and makes for a very easy recovery compared to OS. The down side is that recurrence will be higher because the Dups tissue is not "removed" but only disrupted. But on the plus side, very little trauma is caused by NA compared to OS, and hand trauma is the last thing someone with Dups wants. Many people report a hand injury prior to the appearance or spread of Dups. My strong opinion is that Trauma and Dups are related in that damage to hand tissue can release the disease that is already there. That's why with OS the idea is to remove *all* the diseased tissue.

You are apparently not ready for NA because no contraction is bad enough yet to "snap".

The most difficult place to do NA (or OS) is the PIP (second finger joint from the palm). However, from reports we read here, Eaton is doing well with NA for PIP if you do it soon enough (25-40 degrees or so). Also, unless the palm is in bad shape, the fingers are what counts and where NA really shines.

Most published info on Dups I have seen indicates that it usually starts in the palm. However, so what. With this disease you never know. The fact that your disease is a little outside of "normal" should have *Zero* effect on NA's effectiveness when you are ready.

Don't allow yourself to loose hand strength! Go to a music store and get a "Gripmaster" hand exerciser. Exercising in this way will have no effect on the disease.

Good Luck

Michael,

By lump I mean nodule.....

michael,

My contracture in pinky was about 30 to 35