Dr. Gupta presently designated as the head of hand and shoulder department at Max Healthcare asserts that, “Dupuytren’s disease or contracture is a deformity in the hand that gradually develops over a period of years. It affects the tissue that lies beneath the skin of the palm such that chords or bumps develop on the patient’s palm and straightening his fingers or everyday activities such as shaking hands, putting on a pair of gloves or putting hands in your pocket also become unmanageable. As per my observation the disease mostly affects the ring and the pinky finger with men being more vulnerable to this disease in comparison to women.”
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An MBBS and MS in Orthopedics from AIIMS Dr. Gupta having fervently served innumerable patients for the last 25 years and skillfully performing more than thousands of surgeries vocalizes his perceptions about dupuytren’s disease, “This disease progresses very slowly and its first sign is the thickening of the palm skin. The patient thereafter develops these sensitive to touch but more or less painless lumps on his palm that gradually give way to formation of thick cord like structures that extend to the fingers. Now, these chords become a pulley for the fingers and as they tighten they pull the fingers in towards the palm. Mostly this disease affects both the hands but one of them gets affected severely than the other.
With apprehensions he states, “In terms of medical ascertainment we still haven’t been able to find any viable or conclusive reason as to why this disease develops. Though we believe that there are various reasons such as a person’s age being above 50, person suffering from diabetes, person habitual of alcohol and tobacco consumption, someone whose family member has had the disease in the past or a person who belongs to Northern European ancestry is more likely to be affected by Dupuytren’s contracture.”
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“Lastly I would like to assert that even though this disease takes a number of years to progress it should not be left untreated once diagnosed. There are no ways to cure or stop it except treatment by fasciotomy. The type of fasciotomy depends on the severity of the disease. But yes, the treatment does restore mobility in the fingers and with proper rehabilitation program the patient recovers almost all his functions and strength in the hands” winds up Dr. Gupta on Dupuytren’s contracture.
FAQ – Dupuytren’s Contracture /Disease
When the fibrous tissue just beneath the skin on the palm and fingers abnormally thicken causing bumps or chords on them and making the fingers flex towards the palm, it is referred to as Dupuytren’s contracture or Dupuytren’s disease.