My husband has not been "officially" diagnosed but from doing research and reading this thread I am quite sure that he has both Dupuytren's and Ledderhose's. We do not know about a family history, because he did not know his father's family. His mother's family does not have a history. His brothers do not have any sign of either disease. I believe from my research that his hands are quite advanced because the nodes are quite large, but the contracture is not terribly advanced at this stage but is beginning. It is in both hands. The Ledderhose's is in his left foot only and he only has one node currently but he does have the pits just like on his hands as well. We live in rural East Texas. My question is what kind of Dr. do we go to to get diagnosed and start getting some kind of treatment. He is in quite a bit of pain especially with his foot. I am afraid that around here we will run up against a wall with proper diagnosis and treatment and I don't know where to turn. Any suggestions.

Jan and Robert

Yes...very good information on the menu on the left side of this page; also you can go to www.handcenter.org there is good information there. A podiatrist and hand doctor are good for getting a diagnosis, but you might also want to read about radiation therapy and consult with a doctor who specializes in radiation therapy for the possibility of doing RT for the foot and also hand (if there are no contracture).

I believe in treating this disease as early as possible to avoid the contracture of the finger getting worst. I had very positive results treating one hand and one foot with RT. about nine months ago. I had nodules on the bottom of left foot, and nodules/dimples/tightness and itching on left hand. The radiation I had on both stop the progression of the disease.

Unfortunately on my right hand I waited too long until I had a badly contracted small finger. I had two Needle Aponeurotomy (NA) on same finger, but the contracture keeps returning. Don't let any doctor tell you that you should wait until the finger/fingers are contracted or that surgery is the only option.

Radiation therapy (RT) is an excellent option for early stages of the disease (no contracture or for Ledderhose)....NA is a good option for contracted fingers, but the earlier the better. Surgery should not be your first choice !!

Read all you can from the menu and from all the posts on this Forum, come back with questions and get lots of answers. You can also email some doctors with pictures of your hand to get their opinions.

Edited 07/20/10 17:32