Hi All,

Just registered today on the forum today.

I had surgery about 5 weeks ago on my right hand.

I am 66 years old and have had Dupuytrens for probably the last ten years.

I have Dupuytrens on both hands but really only the little fingers are affected, the right hand was worse as the finger was bent and I couldn't place my hand flat on a level surface.

After the surgery my finger is now straight - which is good.

What I didn't do was enough research before the surgical procedure - unfortunately.

The pain after the local anesthetic had worn off was considerable and constant for several weeks - in spite of strong pain killers being prescribed by my surgeon.

The pain and discomfort have reduced me to tears several times and I am worried as to what the lasting side effects of the surgery will be.

At the moment I have loss of sensation where there is scarring and an unpleasant and high sensitivity to touch on the top part of my small finger - some times it feels like it is being squeezed in a vice!

Also I have restricted movement due to the scarring.

I am massaging my hand with oil and stretching my small finger as suggested by my surgeon on a daily basis.

Just wondering how others have experienced surgery and its after effects?

i would really appreciate some feedback to help me deal with my problem

Thanks

Andy

spanishbuddha:

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Hi Andy

Sorry to hear about your problems after surgery. We list some of the difficulties that some people experience here https://www.dupuytren-online.info/dupuyt...ideeffects.html.

Possibly the pain is symptomatic RSD/CRPS and your surgeon should be able to advise on options for treatment, and similarly techniques for desensitising the nerve damage. Scar management using oils is good and maybe look into overnight bandaging or splinting, with silicone scar tape.

It can for some be a longish road to recovery over several months, but usually improvement is made by following the advice of your hand therapist or physio/OT and persist with the exercises. Of course you could always seek out additional opinion or help from other hand surgeons or clinics.

We do have some threads on recovering from hand surgery, usually people will only post their bad experiences rather than good, but try a search on RSD or CRPS.

Edit to add 5 weeks is still relatively early post surgery recovery so stay with it and get all the help you can.

Best wishes SB