Quote:
Originally Posted by Geneman
That looks more like a popliteal cyst.
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That's Dupuytren's. Mine is 10 times that bad. It can get into your foot arch as well. First thing the hand doc did after looking at my hands was to tell me to remove
my shoes and socks. Sure enough, even though I didn't know about it as it isn't painful.
Neither are my hands painful. The protractor shows I can open my LH ring finger 65º from 90. Or it you look at it the other way, if I try to lay my hand flat on a table, the finger is all done at 125º from 180. The middle finger is better by half. RH is only about 170 off the table. The doc said I'd be back when I couldn't get my hand in my pockets anymore. That was 10 years ago. Xiaflex was new to the game then. They did a lot of open hand surgery then and that's a messy deal. Long healing process and painful.
That doc retired 2 years ago.
So, I did go to see a new doc recently that does the Xiaflex injections. He said no problem with my severity but I'd have to wear a brace most of the time for a month. 6 months while sleeping as DC has a tendency to return.
He wouldn't do it though until I resolve my shoulder issues. I need a 2nd replacement for the one that failed due to infection after 2 years. This is because when they do the straightening, some tissues and even skin can tear. It's a violent procedure like slamming a huge book on your hand to break the plaque. Infection can be a problem in rare cases. They numb you up before doing the instant straightening, at least that's what another patient told me.
The is an intermediate surgery that Noah can expand on. They make a slit and do a bunch of criss-cross incisions to weaken the plague and then put you in a brace.
You're dealing with a tendon here so it can't be just removed. The old fashioned method is to open the hand on the palm side from just up the fingers and towards the wrist 2 to 3" to scrape the plaque off the tendon.
BTW, and I don't mean to gross anyone out, but Peyronie's disease is much the same. I had a bout with that 25 years ago and it was treated with an oral medicine that restored to normal any difficulties. I've been fine since.
And finally, it is hereditary and affects certain northern European Caucasians more than Asians or Blacks. That would be my ancestry for sure. My aunt had Dupuytren's just as bad in her hands as I do. Se had a lot of foot problems as well. Thankfully, I've avoided that (with the exception of bad shoes — see my thread).
Some natural remedies can help along with abstinence of alcohol. Alcohol just exacerbates the problem.