Dupuytren's contracture is when the skin in your palm thickens and causes a nodule which can lead to a finger contracting down.
What are the symptoms of Dupuytren's Disease?
You may have a finger that has started to contract down
You may have thickening in your palm
It commonly affects the ring and little finger, but you can get it in any of your fingers and also your thumb
Generally you will have normal function and not be in any particular pain but may you find that the contracted finger is getting in the way of your normal daily activities such as doing the washing up, cooking and cleaning for example.
Is Dupuytren's Disease hereditary?
The risk factors for Dupuytren's are:
- Smoking
- Being diabetic
- Having epilepsy
- Over the age of 50
- Having a family history of Dupuytren's. It is not known why but the condition is often found within families, particulary of anglo-saxon heritage. However, the inheritance pattern is often unclear.
What are the treatment options for Dupuytren's?
A simple procedure under local anaesthetic called Percutaneous Fasciotomy can be given where a small needle is used to open up the cord running to the finger in a gentle manipulation.
If this hasn’t helped then the next step would be to administer a nerve block to the whole arm, and surgically remove the thickened tissue from the finger.
