Dupuytrens contracture surgery did not go well
I have already had surgery for dupuytrens contracture in my left palm. The surgery was not well-performed and my little finger is again bending at 45 degrees. I suspect some of the dupuytrens cords were left in my finger and palm as it looks to me as if the cord is reforming in my palm. I am 57.
Would any of the supplements on the site be of any use at this stage? If so, which would be the best to buy and what would the dosage be?
thanks
Lisa
Greetings Lisa,
Sorry to learn of your problem.
It would have helped a bit if you would have mentioned how long ago your Dupuytren surgery took place, however I think I can still offer a meaningful reply to you.
To answer you well, a few things come to mind:
1. All Dupuytren contracture will eventually recur after surgery. Sooner or later the hand nodules and cords will develop again. lThe fact that your little finger is again flexing in toward your palm does not necessarily mean that your surgeon did a bad job; your surgeon could have in fact done a spectacular job, and your Dupuytren problem would return anyway, given enough time. It is said that for about half of the patients who have Dupuytren contracture surgery the palm lumps and nodules and finger contractures will return in approximately five years or so — for some people it might be a year or two, and for others it might be ten years, but five years is an average time for recurrence after any Dupuytren surgery.
2. You wrote: “The surgery was not well-performed and my little finger is again bending…” Do you mean that there were other issues and problems that told you right after surgery that your surgery was not performed well, or are you assuming that because your contracture is recurring that the surgery was not performed well?
3. The recurrence of the Dupuytrens is not due to “…some of the dupuytrens cords [being] left in my finger and palm…” Dupuytrens is not like a cancer that must be completely removed, or it will spread. If all of the cord material was removed, or if some was left behind, you would have had this recurrence after a few years.
4. From my experience, most surgeons tend to underplay or intentionally “forget” to mention certain things about a proposed surgery that might discourage a patient to have that surgery. What would have happened if your surgeon had said something like this to you before your surgery?: “You know, Lisa, we are going to cut here and cut there on your hand and finger, it will hurt pretty bad for a week after the surgery, and you will have to do rehabilitation for a month or two that will also be rather painful. As a result of this hand surgery there is a good chance you will lose a little bit of feeling in your fingertip and you will also find that you will not get back full use of your finger because it will be permanently just a little stiff, and you will be able to predict bad weather in the future. And, oh, one last thing: I will do the best job for you that I can, but no matter how good I do, your Dupuytren contracture will come back in about five years — give or take a few years. Actually, once I start doing Dupuytren surgery on you, I will have to keep on doing them because the condition never really goes away.” You might not have had that surgery. And that would mean your surgeon would have been a little less busy that week.
5. There is not any way I or anyone can tell you ahead of time which of the DCI therapies may, or may not, be successful for you. These are not drugs we are dealing with. We are attempting to use naturally occurring nutritional substances to stimulate and support your ability to heal and repair the Dupuytren contracture and related soft tissue reaction in your hand. Further, there is no best one to use. They are all important and effective in their own way and all contribute to your effort to recover from the Dupuytren contracture. What makes the DCI approach different and more effective than other Alternative Medicine approaches is that we recommend that you combine several therapies at the same time to “gang up” on your hand problem and support your healing potential to the maximum of your ability. To understand this better I suggest that you read Dupuytren Contracture Treatment Philosophy and Dupuytren Contracture Treatment and Alternative Medicine.
6. Dosage is always an important question. Dosage is started at the lower end of what is suggested on the label of each therapy product. From there it is increased in a way and at a rate that is thoroughly explained in the literature that is sent to you with each order you receive. You will be given complete instructions and suggestions to increase your dosage and manage your treatment in a way that will lead you to the highest level of recovery that is within your potential to heal and repair.
I had surgery on my right hand about 6 years ago. The Dr. did a zig-zag from the first joint of my my little finger almost to my wrist. It has not come back. I had Xiaflex done on my left hand. The same DR. did a big sell job saying it would be just as good without the scars, pain, etc. .It did not work. My whole hand turned black. It hurt almost as bad as the filet job on my right hand. I have a marble sized lump at the injection site after three years. I wish I had done it the old fashion way. I can’t believe I have to do this again.
Greetings James,
When the Xiaflex procedure (actually I consider it a surgical procedure) goes bad, it can be a living nightmare. I think time will soon prove that Xiaflex injections are not worth the risk, considering the severely bad reactions that seem to be frequently taking place. Currently every doctor wants to be part of what appears to be a profitable fad with this new procedure.
Your earlier surgery has gone a long time without a recurrence of your original Dupuytren’s contracture starting up again. Be grateful you have gone so long without a flare up. TRH
I had the Xiaflex treatment for Dupuytren’s contracture and within a month my little finger began contracting again (was doing physical therapy as well). The Xiaflex treatment actually made it worse. My hand now aches and three of my fingers periodically go numb and I have to shake it out, which sometimes takes several minutes. My fingers are now much stiffer than ever. When I went back for a second follow up on my own volition, concerned that my fingers were contracting again, the doctor blew me off and said, well, it’s better than it was… Great… not!. I should have just learned to live with it. If those Xiaflex treatments had repercussions like this, I can only imagine what might happen with surgery.
Greetings Deborah,
It bothers me greatly that you had such a bad outcome from your Xiaflex surgery. However, you are certainly not alone with your worsened Dupuytren’s contracture. A few things need to be mentioned about your comments:
1. When MDs are asked about return or recurrence of Dupuytren’s contracture after conventional hand surgery or Xiaflex surgery, they commonly dismiss the idea. The patient is told recurrence is unlikely, and something like, “…and if it does happen, the DC might take maybe 10-20 years to come back. But even if it does come back, you will have all those years to enjoy the benefits of being without your Dupuytren’s contracture.” They underplay the recurrence factor. The truth is that all Dupuytren’s contracture surgery only stimulates a new round of more hand contracture, and it happens much faster than what patients are commonly told. Over the years my DCI people have told me that about 75-85% of recurrence occurs in 2-4 years, 5-15% recurs in less than a year, and another 5-15% recurs in 4-10 years. Many of my people speak of recurrence in less than a year; some in 2-3 years. Sadly, it all eventually recurs. And, the most shocking truth of it is that the DC will all recur worse (tighter, larger, more painful, more numb, or more limited finger movement) than the original DC. On top of that, if a second standard hand surgery or Xiaflex surgery is done, the recurrence will come faster and give even worse results than the outcome of the first surgical intervention. (Many people are talked into — and are desperate for any kind of help — because the first surgery results in such disappointing and disastrous results.) I hear so many stories of bad situations being made worse by compounding surgeries. I get very upset when I hear stories like yours.
2. Apparently, your doctor chooses to not believe you when you report you are worse. That is a lot of arrogance.
3. Many doctors use the Xiaflex procedure only because they hope it will give a better outcome than the other treatments they have available to use (which do not work). As you have seen and experienced, Xiaflex surgery is not the miracle procedure you were told about before it was done. In theory, Xiaflex is a great idea and should make all DC cases better. In the real world, given the number of bad Xiaflex outcomes that are reported here and elsewhere on the internet, it is apparently extremely difficult to do a Xiaflex surgery well.
4. Some cases of Dupuytren’s contracture heal by themselves and just go away. It is the nature of the body to heal. That is why a doctor will give a patient 12-18 months after the onset of DC before doing surgery; any good doctor gives the Dupuytren’s contracture a change to self-repair. Those cases of Dupuytren’s contracture that do not go away will worsen over time. It is the nature of the DC problem. Please think about doing something to possibly help yourself improve, even a little. Even though you have had a surgical intervention, I have many people report improvement of their DC after using the DCI natural treatment protocol. The DCI results after surgery are not as good as for those people who have not had hand surgery. However, there are not really many options. It sounds like any improvement would be helpful and important. For non-surgical hands we get 8-10 reports of moderate to marked success with Dupuytren’s contracture when the DCI procedure is used correctly, for every one report of failure.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck to you. TRH