Hi Terry,
Unfortunately, you will find that there are no doctors performing NA in Australia. I live in Brisbane and recently returned to Australia from Paris where I had two NA sessions on my Stage 4 DC of the little finger on my left hand. I was treated by the inventor of the treatment, Dr Lermusiaux. I simply emailed him pictures of my hand, he responded almost immediately, and within two weeks I was on the plane headed for his suburban Paris office.
The two treatments were a week apart. Each took around 20 minutes and were virtually painless. And now I have an almost straight finger! Because of the advanced stage my DC was at, I had to wear a thermo-plastic splint at night for a month or so to improve the straightening process. Dr Lermusiaux arranged for me to have the splint custom made at the Lariboisiere Hospital fo 38 Euro.
I figure that at around AU$1800 for the return airfare to Paris, another AU$1000 or so for accommodation for 9 days, plus my living expenses, I got an absolute bargain! Not only did I have a fantastic holiday in a truly wonderful city, but I got my finger fixed too!
So, if you choose NA over a full blown operation (and who wouldn't?) you'll need to have a holiday in Paris I'm afraid.

Good Luck,

Colin Rankin

Colin,

Congratulations on your hands! And yes, the money is worth it. :-)

Anon

Terry,

If Dr. Rowan is as progressive as you hope, perhaps he will be willing to take a look at Eaton's site and consider investigating NA. However, more than likely he'll refer to his Talking Points and say something like: "That needle *thing* has been tried. It doesn't work." The unspoken: "If it worked, don't you think *I* would know about it?"

I just wanted to prepare you. (I think between *all* of us we probably actually *could* compile the Surgical Talking Points :) Good Luck.

Terry,

Here are the Usual Responses in order of appearance:

"NA is a Blind Procedure and therefore dangerous. It would be too easy to cut a nerve or tendon."

"Only Open Surgery actually removes all the diseased tissue, thus greatly lowering the rate of recurrence. Anything less is a complete waste of time."

"There is no credible evidence that NA is safe and effective."

"I've never heard of NA"

Let us know if your doc has any additional uninformed objections.

I went to Paris in July 2002 and had three needle sessions - two on my left hand, one on my right hand. Dr Badois treated me out of the main Paris hospital, and results were brilliant.

Since then, I have been seeking an Australian Doctor. My GP helped me search, and came up with a Plastic Surgeon - Dr David Huntersmith, who Practises in Mornington in Victoria and is interested in finding a simpler procedure for DC.

David has not been to Paris yet, but has treated me using the needle technique from first principles with some success. He has treated a dozen or so patients I believe.

I have now been twice, and am still pressuring David to go to Paris

here is a web contact http://www.plasticsurgery.com.au/surgeons/d_huntersmith.shtml