Dupuytren's contracture
Discussion
elanfan said:
I enquired with local surgeon whether he offered early stage injectable treatment to dissolve the build up. Brief answer was it’s not licensed!
Going to be a huge problem if this develops as get on crutches bearing quite a lot of weight through my hands, will probably mean I can’t walk. Hope it stays minor.
Don't know if you're east mids, but the Pulvertaft hand clinic at Derby hospital is brilliant. Try and get a referral there. Ask if they're still carrying out the trial on various treatments.Going to be a huge problem if this develops as get on crutches bearing quite a lot of weight through my hands, will probably mean I can’t walk. Hope it stays minor.
Nice to know I'm not alone, I've never come across anyone else with the contracture till now although I know Margaret Thatcher was affected by it and if you ever see Bill Nighy on the red carpet waving at the camera it's clear that he has it too. From what I understand, it's more common in Northern Scandinavia and it affected the Vikings but that might be out of date information.
I'll add my twopenneth for what it's worth.
My little finger began to curl over in 2005 and I had a z-plasty in 2008 which straightened things out nicely. I had about ten years of normal finger behaviour and then by 2018 my pinky had curled over again. This time I've chosen not to have corrective surgery for a couple of reasons. There never seems to be a good time to lose the use of my right hand for 2 or 3 months and It's not actually that debilitating or painful.
I used to be quite self conscious when shaking hands, worrying that people might take me for a Mason... or worse but then Covid arrived and shaking hands went out of fashion.
It seems that it affects different people in different ways. Both doctors and surgeons have warned me that there's a chance that when one finger curls over, the rest can follow suit and you're left with a fist which amongst other things can cause problems with the skin on the palm of the hand.
Fortunately I'm lucky and this doesn't seem to be happening to me so far and the only real problem I have is putting a glove on... which can take 10 minutes.
I'll add my twopenneth for what it's worth.
My little finger began to curl over in 2005 and I had a z-plasty in 2008 which straightened things out nicely. I had about ten years of normal finger behaviour and then by 2018 my pinky had curled over again. This time I've chosen not to have corrective surgery for a couple of reasons. There never seems to be a good time to lose the use of my right hand for 2 or 3 months and It's not actually that debilitating or painful.
I used to be quite self conscious when shaking hands, worrying that people might take me for a Mason... or worse but then Covid arrived and shaking hands went out of fashion.
It seems that it affects different people in different ways. Both doctors and surgeons have warned me that there's a chance that when one finger curls over, the rest can follow suit and you're left with a fist which amongst other things can cause problems with the skin on the palm of the hand.
Fortunately I'm lucky and this doesn't seem to be happening to me so far and the only real problem I have is putting a glove on... which can take 10 minutes.
loughran said:
Nice to know I'm not alone, I've never come across anyone else with the contracture till now although I know Margaret Thatcher was affected by it and if you ever see Bill Nighy on the red carpet waving at the camera it's clear that he has it too. From what I understand, it's more common in Northern Scandinavia and it affected the Vikings but that might be out of date information.
I'll add my twopenneth for what it's worth.
My little finger began to curl over in 2005 and I had a z-plasty in 2008 which straightened things out nicely. I had about ten years of normal finger behaviour and then by 2018 my pinky had curled over again. This time I've chosen not to have corrective surgery for a couple of reasons. There never seems to be a good time to lose the use of my right hand for 2 or 3 months and It's not actually that debilitating or painful.
I used to be quite self conscious when shaking hands, worrying that people might take me for a Mason... or worse but then Covid arrived and shaking hands went out of fashion.
It seems that it affects different people in different ways. Both doctors and surgeons have warned me that there's a chance that when one finger curls over, the rest can follow suit and you're left with a fist which amongst other things can cause problems with the skin on the palm of the hand.
Fortunately I'm lucky and this doesn't seem to be happening to me so far and the only real problem I have is putting a glove on... which can take 10 minutes.
If you leave it contracted for too long, any corrective op becomes a bigger thing.I'll add my twopenneth for what it's worth.
My little finger began to curl over in 2005 and I had a z-plasty in 2008 which straightened things out nicely. I had about ten years of normal finger behaviour and then by 2018 my pinky had curled over again. This time I've chosen not to have corrective surgery for a couple of reasons. There never seems to be a good time to lose the use of my right hand for 2 or 3 months and It's not actually that debilitating or painful.
I used to be quite self conscious when shaking hands, worrying that people might take me for a Mason... or worse but then Covid arrived and shaking hands went out of fashion.
It seems that it affects different people in different ways. Both doctors and surgeons have warned me that there's a chance that when one finger curls over, the rest can follow suit and you're left with a fist which amongst other things can cause problems with the skin on the palm of the hand.
Fortunately I'm lucky and this doesn't seem to be happening to me so far and the only real problem I have is putting a glove on... which can take 10 minutes.
I posted my left hand above : the right hand was worse, and needed a skin graft at the base of the little finger:
But I'm happy with the results so far (about 10 years on)
Regbuser said:
Wow you got a sling too. 
6 weeks in and I'm a little disappointed, scar healing nicely, swelling down, doing physio and all works OK except little finger pip joint won't straigten properly beyond 45 degrees.
It feels like a joint issue not a tendon one.
I'm not back to full activity yet, exercise and working with tools can make it swell.
Edited by PositronicRay on Sunday 16th April 08:10
I've got the beginnings of this on my right hand.
Started with what I thought was just a cyst on my palm and then a tension mainly on the ring finger.
The 'cyst' got bigger and then another one and the skin around it grew puckered and calloused.
I did see a doctor but he said there was no point doing anything until it got worse as the op would put my hand out of use for a while, as I've seen with you guys' pics.
That was a year ago and so far I can still straighten my fingers but I feel a lot of tension.
Wonderful thing, the human body, but it doesn't half throw in some odd curve balls.
Anyone aware of why this happens in the first place?
Started with what I thought was just a cyst on my palm and then a tension mainly on the ring finger.
The 'cyst' got bigger and then another one and the skin around it grew puckered and calloused.
I did see a doctor but he said there was no point doing anything until it got worse as the op would put my hand out of use for a while, as I've seen with you guys' pics.
That was a year ago and so far I can still straighten my fingers but I feel a lot of tension.
Wonderful thing, the human body, but it doesn't half throw in some odd curve balls.
Anyone aware of why this happens in the first place?
Interesting. Although no one in my older family appeared to have it.
I have done stints working outside operating equipment as well as a lot of driving but I'm not a builder or a farmer.
Drank a bit when younger, barely smoked and gave up decades ago.
Funnily enough, I use my right index finger to text and I can really feel the pulling in that hand whilst writing this.
My post count is quite high so maybe it's the 18 years on PH that's done it
I have done stints working outside operating equipment as well as a lot of driving but I'm not a builder or a farmer.
Drank a bit when younger, barely smoked and gave up decades ago.
Funnily enough, I use my right index finger to text and I can really feel the pulling in that hand whilst writing this.
My post count is quite high so maybe it's the 18 years on PH that's done it
Regbuser said:
maccboy said:
Was your op the big one, or the needle one?
Fasciectomy, where they open up the hand and cut out the growths. Regional block, and under the knife for about two hours.Had fasciotomy / needle aponeurotomy previously for this hand, and it only aggravated the condition.
maccboy said:
Thanks. I've got one on Monday and I don't know how long I'll be out of action for. It's a needle aponeurotomy op.
Expect discomfort but go with it and stay relaxed. The nurses did a great job of distraction with small talk, and the surgeon was very precise.After mine, which lasted 15 mins, the relief of tension was immediate, and after 5 minutes the very small incisions had dried up; I could drive home and the hand felt great.
However, about 2 months after, the growths really came back aggressively.
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