What is Needle Aponeurotomy?
Recommended Dupuytren's Contracture treatment
My finger is out straight and there is no pain.
Learn about Needle Aponeurotomy and Needle Release
New Dupuytren's Contracture Medical Treatment Option
Dupuytren's contracture, which develops from Dupuytren's disease, has always been regarded as a surgical problem. Thanks to advances in the 1970's, Dupuytren's contracture can now be treated non-surgically using a needle aponeurotomy (NA) or needle release.
The NA for Dupuytren's contracture is an outpatient, office procedure using local anesthesia. It produces prompt, striking improvement in hand appearance and function. The procedure is painless, correction immediate, and recovery rapid. Most patients return to full activities within a few days. Physical therapy is rarely necessary. The NA is far less expensive and much less traumatic than conventional open surgery.
Conventional open surgery for Dupuytren's contracture is performed in the operating room under general anesthesia. It uses long zig-zag incisions Into the fingers and palm. Recovery is painful and protracted necessitating prolonged physical therapy afterward. The recurrence rate for a contracture following open surgery is essentially the same as that with NA.
In the 1970's, Drs. Lermusiaux and Badois, rheumatologists at the Lariboisiere Hospital (Paris, France), developed the NA for Dupuytren's contracture. The procedure is noted for its simplicity, the immediate response to treatment, decreased morbidity, and greatly increased patient satisfaction.
Dr.Lermusiaux published his first results in 1979. Progressively, the NA technique is spreading throughout Europe. It is becoming the initial and definitive treatment for both palmar and digital forms of Dupuytren's contracture. The procedure only recently has been made known in the United States. Dr. Barry is proud to be one of the first United States physicians trained in Paris by Drs. Lermusiaux and Badois to help introduce the NA into this country.