Randy, let's ease off the gas pedal for a minute. Yes, Eaton's radio station is rather charming and unique. A local feel reminiscent of the days when there was actually local programming. I had forgotten about it until you brought it up.

I just read that Frank Sinatra experienced persistant pain following surgery for Dupuytren's when he was 55 years old. Since his father was Sicilian it must have come from his northern Italian mother's side. Can't you see it?... "Look doc, if dis'operation don't work Jilly's gonna make your fingers look like a Coney Island pretzel, get da picture?"

After following this forum for about a year and making a few posts myself I have come to a few conclusions.

NA definitely seems to work for people with stage 1 or 2 finger curls and somewhat with stage 3. So following general medical progression progressing from least invasive to more invasive, it seems to make sense before going to open surgery to at least investigate and see a hand doctor who performs NA for an evaluation first. Unfortunately at this time most hand surgeons have never heard of NA and mostly will recommend traditional surgery as a solution once the finger curl reaches later stages. That is why it seems to make sense to see a NA practitioner first. In most cases they also do OS so their opinion should be less biased as they can perform either one.

If traditional open surgery becomes the preferred choice from what I can gather from posters here the choice of the surgeon is most important decision you can make. It is apparent that OS is very technical and complicated. Some people have their hands almost destroyed or disfigured from surgeons that don't seem to know what they are doing leading to many months of painful and unsuccessful physical therapy. On the other hand (pun intended) many people report complete success after OS having fully restored hands in a few months. In many cases DC has not returned. So obviouisly no matter how strongly ones feels about NA this course of action can work.This is the reason IMO there is so much controversy about this course of action on the forum.

So the message is if you opt for OS do your homework. Ask how many OS the doctor has done. Ask for references of his patients. Call the occupational therapists in the area and ask their opinions who is the best surgeon in the area for DC. Don't be shy it is your hand(s). However it makes sense to me after you have been diagnosed with DC to at least check out the least invasive option first. NA. Then go from there.

Anon,
Who are these "surgery only people" you refer? I spoke with my surgeon about NA before my surgery and always said that I would consider it for the next procedure on my other hand, when the time would come. I believe that was before you showed up on this board.
I also have said, that it would be a difficult decision since the fasciectomy on my hand was so successful.
Every time I mentioned that my surgery was very successful, I was taken to task for having a fasciectomy, even though, it would have been very difficult (85 degrees, PIP) for me to have had NA. When I mentioned that people could get a fasciotomy in the U.S. if they couldn't get to France, somehow that sparked a controversy with people who were adamant about NA as the only option.

After three years my hand is functional and looks the same as it was previous to Dupuytren's, so naturally the decision will be a difficult one. As each year goes by without problems, I'm guessing that for me, I would lean toward another fasciectomy on my other hand. If Dupuytren's would become a problem (starts contracting)in the near future I would weigh the options.

So I ask, who were all of these "surgery only" people you (and others) were arguing with?

Tommy: Thanks for the much needed levity. Gas peddle off.
Anon: I nominate you Forum Historian.....Seconds?
Sean: You're right. "Surgery Only" folks are rather scarce around here. They do the research and become "Both/And", as we both have become.

Pity his relatives, neighbors.