Randy, Mark, Susan, Everyone:

I saw Dr. Benhaim for a follow-up to the NA performed on 9/20. All is going extremely well. However, I seems like I may have caused some confusion about the NA Dr. Benhaim performs. So, just for clarification let me say that he does NOT regularly put the patient under a twilight sleep. I met another of his patients Wednesday at the OT office and he was fully awake and was able to give feedback to Dr. Benhaim should he get too close to a nerve. As I suspected, BECAUSE I HAVE RDS--a condition that can cause lots of pain--maybe forever--he would not perform any painful procedure that would trigger that, including sticking in the needles that will numb the hand. BUT THIS IS NOT THE CASE FOR EVERYONE! So, in the end, you have to trust the doctor to do what is best for you. If you have any questions, just ask him. He is the nicest man in the world.

As to not doing the PIP joint, I asked him about that and he said it was because my DC nodules are on the side of the finger at a point where there is a very large nerve. Without being able to see the nerve and move it aside, he could not do the NA there. Other people may not have the DC nodule located where mine is. *Different strokes for different folks,* as they say. Should it become problematic, he would do a mini open surgery. But he doesn't think it will come to that.

This may be a last post on this, as Dr. Benhaim did a great job and said he does not need to see me again unless or until the Dups comes back. However, I will continue to monitor the Forum to learn more for myself. If any of your have questions, please post and I will do my best to answer. You all have been a great help and I have learned much. All together, we know more than many of the doctors we see.

Carmen

Thanks for the clarification and congrats on the good outcome. We are all "special cases" to an extent, and one size does *not* fit all. Avoiding RSD is a neat trick and I'm glad you did.