Unfortunately, there is no medical treatment available for Dupuytren’s disease. No drugs or injections can be used to resolve it. The only treatment available is surgical excision of the scar, and even this may not cure it.
Because the Dupuytren’s disease can affect all of the skin and deeper elements, and it is obviously not possible to totally remove the skin from the hand and preserve any function, the aim of surgery is to excise the diseased tissue and correct the contracture.
Surgery is not usually undertaken for painful Dupuytren’s nodules themselves, as they normally settle down with time. Excision of the Dupuytren’s tissue and release of contracted associated joints can usually straighten out the fingers but it is important to remember that, as the process of scar healing occurs, there is always some degree of early recurrence of the contracture. Usually straightening of 60 – 70% can be reasonably expected.
Sometimes, in addition to this excision of tissue and release of associated joint contractures, other such procedures such as specialised skin grafting may be required.
After excision of the affected tissue and release of contractures, it is important to understand that your hand will take six to twelve months to recover fully, in terms of movement and function.