Blog

Percutaneous fasciotomy for Dupuytren’s contracture is an old procedure, but was reinvented by Dr. Lermusiaux in Paris in the 1980s, who used a small needle rather than a scalpel. This modification allows the procedure to be performed using almost no anesthesia, which gives an unprecedented safety margin: the patient can

The management options for people with Dupuytren’s can appear as confusing as the biology. This review provides a nice overview of Dupuytren’s disease and a practical decision tree approach to manage hands affected by Dupuytren’s. It’s worth a read: https://dupuytrens.org/DupPDFs/2006_Bayat_1586.pdf

There is not yet a perfect solution for PIP contractures from Dupuytren’s Disease, or for PIP contractures in general. One approach has been to use temporary skeletal fixation devices to slowly lengthen Dupuytren’s cords and scar tissue. The collagen bundles in Dupuytren’s cords don’t actually stretch: they remodel, disconnecting crosslinks

Dupuytren’s has been associated with epilepsy. The type or cause of epilepsy doesn’t seem to matter. What does matter is the specific medication phenobarbitone. Dupuytren’s was not common in epileptics prior to the common use of this medicine, but is very common in people on long term treatment with it: