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Has anyone else been diagnosed with Dupuytren’s Contraction? My hand surgeon used that term when checking my condition, however it seems there isn’t anything he can do for it. Google search has some information but I always like info from others who have the same issue and found ways to help with the problem.
My ex had it. There are a couple of surgical procedures, as I'm sure you've discovered in your research. He had surgery when his middle, ring, and little fingers had contracted so much he couldn't grip his golf clubs! Golf ruled his life which wasn't a bad thing, actually. The surgery was just on his ring finger as the other two weren't as severely affected. Then he followed up the surgery with the prescribed PT.
To be honest, the surgery just put a pause in the contracture. The ring finger started to contract again some months after the procedure. So basically it was just a stop-gap.
My neighbor has had the needle procedure on hers with the same result - really no measurable improvement over time. I have a friend who has it in her little finger and after injuring it and exacerbating the contracture, now tapes it to her ring finger as it protrudes sideways and gets in the way. Another friend is scheduled for surgery at the winter school break as she's a teacher and needs to be able to type. Then there's my ex's cousin. He had it in his little finger and became so annoyed by it that he had the finger amputated. As for me, I have the beginning of it in my ring finger of my right hand. I'm not sure what I'll do when it becomes too much. Right now I'm leaning towards just living with it.
As a point of interest, supposedly it's more prevalent in Scandinavians, which we all are. Don't know if that's been verified or if it's an old wives tale.
Hope that helps . . . at least you know you're not alone.
I’ve had the surgery for one finger in the left hand and an injection treatment for the finger in the other hand. So far the injection was good for about 36 hours and then back to the same. The surgery helped a little but other problems started and require hand therapy. After weeks of therapy the surgeon checked how things were going and felt more therapy was needed. Therapy helps for a day or so but nothing seems to make a big difference. As I look back over the months, it (therapy) has made things better in both hands. The worst part is the pain in the right wrist which seems like carpal tunnel but is just nerves that are irritated. The pain continues up the arm and into the elbow and shoulder.
I’m learning to live with this condition now that I understand that there is no easy way to improve or correct it. Making some daily changes in what I do and how I do it seems to be a chore at times. Things could be worse!
I’ve had the surgery for one finger in the left hand and an injection treatment for the finger in the other hand. So far the injection was good for about 36 hours and then back to the same. The surgery helped a little but other problems started and require hand therapy. After weeks of therapy the surgeon checked how things were going and felt more therapy was needed. Therapy helps for a day or so but nothing seems to make a big difference. As I look back over the months, it (therapy) has made things better in both hands. The worst part is the pain in the right wrist which seems like carpal tunnel but is just nerves that are irritated. The pain continues up the arm and into the elbow and shoulder.
I’m learning to live with this condition now that I understand that there is no easy way to improve or correct it. Making some daily changes in what I do and how I do it seems to be a chore at times. Things could be worse!
The next day following the enzyme injection, you should go back the next day so your fingers can be stretched to break the softened cords in your hand. You should also be given therapy for a few weeks and exercise your fingers frequently to prevent them from folding back down again. I agree, therapy can be pretty painful.
I was given the option of a XenoFlex injection, but it was determined that the severity of my fingers (the little finger, ring finger and somewhat of the middle finger) was pretty significant. I was told the best I could expect my fingers would only be improved by a small percentage. Not enough to be worth it. Surgery was another option, but that's risky considering there are nerves to deal with. I opted against it as the improvement wouldn't be much help for me. If I could've gotten to it sooner, it might have been more helpful. As it is, although I don't like it, I'll just live with it since it's more of an inconvenience, and is not painful or life threatening.
What I'd like to do since not much else can be done for me, is to have my hand and probably part of the forearm amputated and have it replaced with a bionic hand and limb. But that's more an idealistic notion than a realistic one. Unless I can be selected as a test subject, the cost for such a bionic replacement is horribly expensive. If I were in my 20s to 40s, I'd more seriously consider it. As I understand, there's a long learning curve and continual training sessions required for it that can take a couple of years before perfecting the use of the limb. They look pretty amazing though, and the technology is constantly improving. Anyway, the surgeon refuses to do an amputation since not all my fingers are affected. Admittedly, there are things you can do better with your natural hand than you can with a bionic hand.
I’ve had the surgery for one finger in the left hand and an injection treatment for the finger in the other hand. So far the injection was good for about 36 hours and then back to the same. The surgery helped a little but other problems started and require hand therapy. After weeks of therapy the surgeon checked how things were going and felt more therapy was needed. Therapy helps for a day or so but nothing seems to make a big difference. As I look back over the months, it (therapy) has made things better in both hands. The worst part is the pain in the right wrist which seems like carpal tunnel but is just nerves that are irritated. The pain continues up the arm and into the elbow and shoulder.
I’m learning to live with this condition now that I understand that there is no easy way to improve or correct it. Making some daily changes in what I do and how I do it seems to be a chore at times. Things could be worse!
I don't know anyone who has this condition (I have a pinky finger that is weird at the the distal joint, but it's not the same thing), but since "Dupuytren contracture is usually passed down through generations in families and is the most common inherited disorder of connective tissue," the chances are greater that one of your relatives may have this condition and has simply not mentioned it. I'd check around to see if that is the case.
In the meantime, there is a lot of information on the National Institutes of Health website:
^^^ Thanks Boomer for the links in your post; very informative!
I also found this youtube that talks about surgery. It's amazing the things I didn't know about this problem even after my surgeon talked with me. However in my defense he wasn't that easy to talk with and I felt limited in the amount of time he gave me while in the office.
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