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Drs. Denkler & Benhaim as a Team
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08/27/2006 23:03
Mark D.

not registered

08/27/2006 23:03
Mark D.

not registered

Drs. Denkler & Benhaim as a Team

Greetings Fellow DD Sufferers:

At least for those of us in California, we have much to be grateful for.

Specifically, we should be thankful that we have two wonderful Golden State Certified Hand Surgeons, both of whom happen to be good guys.

To my knowledge, I'm the first of us to have the privilege of having both of these Docs on my team.

My story follows…

When I first learned about N.A. (on this site), I knew that I wanted to try N.A. (as opposed to “open surgery”).

Because Dr. Keith Denkler’s name was the one I first saw on this site, I made an appointment & planned a trip to San Francisco to see him.

After I set the appointment with Dr. Denkler, I learned (again, from this site) that Dr. Prosper Benhaim of UCLA also has experience with N.A.

Although I had already set in motion the NA wheels with Dr. Denkler, I somewhat sheepishly set an appointment with Dr. Benhaim. After all, I live in Orange County, so it’s a lot easier to get to LA than to San Fran.

Thus, as it turned out, my initial appointment was with Dr. Benhaim in Los Angeles.

Benhaim was terrific – friendly, bright, concerned. That’s what I needed, because I was scared, scared, scared.

When I told Dr. Benhaim that I had already contacted Dr. Denkler, Dr. Benhaim proceeded to praise Dr. Denkler. Benhaim said that he did not want to discourage me from seeing Dr. Denkler, and offered to serve as my “local” CHS.

Dr. Benhaim then sent his report to Dr. Denkler. That was great, because it gave me a head start on the N.A. even before I saw Keith Denkler.

Then on 8/16/06 I showed up at Dr. Denkler’s door (in Marin County) for my NA.

Wow! Another terrific guy – gregarious, respectful, even fun to talk with.

After my NA procedure, I almost went back to Keith’s office to invite him to lunch.

And, you know what? Had I done so, I really think Keith would have taken the time to dine with my wife Julie & me. Maybe next time we're up North!

Regarding the N.A. itself, I’m very pleased with the results. It hurt a bit when Dr. Denkler injected the local anesthetic & some Kenalog (a form of cortisone). Other than that, it was fine – just some crunchy noises when Dr. Denkler snapped the Dupuytren's cords.

Incidentally, my primary N.A. was for a contraction in both the PIP joint (i.e., the second joint) & the first joint of the ring finger in my right hand.

Dr. Denkler also did a “small N.A.” for a cord that was developing near the thumb on my left hand.

Last Friday (8/16) I trundled back to UCLA to see Dr. Benhaim for a post-N.A. evaluation.

Dr. Benhaim said my hands look great.

Here’s the bottom line: if you’re in California, you have two terrific Docs here to serve you.

I highly recommend both Denkler & Benhaim.

If you’re really lucky (like I am), you’ll have both of these superstars on your team.

Mark

    11/08/2006 23:46
    Mark D

    not registered

    11/08/2006 23:46
    Mark D

    not registered

    Dr. Benhaim - Update

    Hi Y'all:

    Just a quick update...

    Yesterday I saw Dr. Benahim for another follow-up evaluation.

    He said my post-N.A. hands are doing great. Thank God I went for N.A., rather than for Open Surgery!

    Dr. B. also said that he has done "many more" N.A. procedures at UCLA in the last few months.

    We're lucky to have such a great guy leading the N.A. charge for those of us who live in Southern CA.

    Mark

      11/08/2006 23:38
      KurtK

      not registered

      11/08/2006 23:38
      KurtK

      not registered

      Doctors of NA

      Thanks for sharing your story Mark. I had surgery on my right hand 5 years ago for Dups and now its in my left hand. I'm not at a point of having surgery, but this time I am going to do NA. I'm here in Phoenix, so a trip to CA might happen. I have an appointment with my doc here in January and will decide at that point. My doc is a great surgeon because he did a great job on my right hand, but I don't want OS next time.

      Thanks again for the recommendation.

      KurtK

        11/09/2006 23:28
        Mike S

        not registered

        11/09/2006 23:28
        Mike S

        not registered

        Dr. Denkler

        54 year old male with 90 degree left pinkie PIP contracture. First detected bend some 7-9 years ago. Slowly but surely getting more pronounced over time. Been following this Board for over a year. Not good with medical interventions. Self-diagnosed DC, confirmed by GP, double-confirmed by hand surgeon/orthopedist. No family history, alcohol, diabetes, or known trauma. Finally took the plunge and flew up to SF (live in LA) on 11-3 to have NA performed by Dr. Denkler. Dr. Denkler and his wife (Dr. Hudson, an internist who also provides support to Dr. Denkler) were both extremely gracious and hositable to my wife and I. 30 minute consult follwed by 20-30 minute procedure. Perhaps 5-10 anasthesia injections which were painful but not unbearable (RX pain relief offerred but declined). The cutting of the chords itself is painless. Excellent release achieved. Probably 15-30 degrees. Post-Op care consisted of dressing plus elevation for the first 48 hours, followed by physical therapy (started) splinting (night only so far), etc. Considerable healing, inprovement in range of motion, etc. achieved in first week. Still some swelling and tenderness. Overall, very happy with the results thus far. Thanks to all who keep this Board going - Randy-Wolfgang-Mark D-Frances-and all the others.

          11/09/2006 23:41
          Randy H.

          not registered

          11/09/2006 23:41
          Randy H.

          not registered

          Go Denkler!!

          That's great to hear Mike! Congrats. Who else there is to thank are a ton of names from old posts who worked hard to get NA accepted in the US starting *five* years ago. Walt Stagner especially, as it was on his little DVD that Eaton first saw French NA. That was the beginning of the beginning in the US. We are all the beneficiaries of that moment about three years ago now.

            11/10/2006 23:10
            Mark D.

            not registered

            11/10/2006 23:10
            Mark D.

            not registered

            Thanks to Kurt & Mike

            Kurt & Mike:

            Thanks for the kind words.

            It's wonderful to know that in some small way I've helped pay back the debt I owe to Randy H., Wolfgang, SuzieQ, Marjorie, & the others who participate on this Website.

            Those are the people who set me on the path to learning about N.A. in general & to finding two great CA Docs in particular.

            As you know, I have the greatest respect for Drs. Denkler & Benhaim. Together, they have made incredible contributions to giving me back the use of my hands.

            We're really blessed to have these Docs pushing the envelope for us.

            Mark

              11/11/2006 23:14
              chuck

              not registered

              11/11/2006 23:14
              chuck

              not registered

              contact info

              could you please forward Dr Benhaim's contact information--- and confirm the spelling of his name. Thanks for the help---chuck

                11/11/2006 23:43
                Wolfgang

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                11/11/2006 23:43
                Wolfgang

                not registered

                Dr. Benhaim

                You can find Dr. Benhaim's contact data on

                http://www.dupuytren-online.info/needle_aponeurotomy.html

                or in the regular posts from Suzie on this forum (just scroll down until you find an updated list of NA doctors).

                Wolfgang

                  11/11/2006 23:55
                  chuck

                  not registered

                  11/11/2006 23:55
                  chuck

                  not registered

                  contact info

                  could you please forward Dr Benhaim's contact information--- and confirm the spelling of his name. Thanks for the help---chuck

                    11/12/2006 23:24
                    Mark D

                    not registered

                    11/12/2006 23:24
                    Mark D

                    not registered

                    Dr. Benhaim~sq~s Contact Info

                    Chuck:

                    Here is Dr. B's info:


                    Dr. Prosper Benhaim, M.D.
                    Geffen School of Medicine - UCLA
                    100 Medical Plaza
                    Suite 755
                    Los Angeles CA 90095-6902

                    Phone: 310-206-4468
                    E-mail: pbenhaim@mednet.ucla.edu
                    Fax: 310-206-0063


                    Let us know how your consultation goes.

                    Mark

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