Dupuytren's Disease: Surgery Complications
Topic Overview
Complications following surgery for
Dupuytren's disease are common. They occur in about 1
out of 5 cases.1 Complications can include:
- Delayed wound healing. This is the most common
complication, and it is usually mild.
- Infection of the
wound.
- Stiffness, tenderness, or
contracture, with the fingers still being
curled.
- Damage to the skin, which results from trying to
surgically separate the skin from the diseased tissue (palmar
fascia).
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy.
- Very uncommon problems such as:
- Nerve injury.
- Loss of circulation in the
fingers.
- Collection of blood or blood clots in the tissues
(hematoma).
In severe Dupuytren's disease, the tissue between your skin
and tendons (palmar fascia) thickens to the point that your fingers are bent
and cannot be straightened (contracture). If you lose the ability
to wear gloves or hold objects, or if your hands become painful, surgery may be
done to relieve the contracture. A skin graft may be done after surgery to
cover open areas in the palm. Surgery may not restore total hand function. Even
with successful surgery, thickened palm tissue may develop again in the same
place or in a new areas of the hands. Reoperation is sometimes needed to get
your hand function back.
References
Citations
- Brown AN, Gilkeson GS (2005). Fibrosing diseases:
Diabetic stiff hand syndrome, Dupuytren's contracture, palmar and plantar
fasciitis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, and Peyronie's disease. In WJ Koopman, LW
Moreland, eds., Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology, 15th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2093–2108. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
|---|
| Primary Medical Reviewer | William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine |
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| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Herbert von Schroeder, MD, MSc, FRCSC - Hand and Microvascular Surgery |
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| Last Revised | March 22, 2012 |
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Last Revised:
March 22, 2012
Brown AN, Gilkeson GS (2005). Fibrosing diseases:
Diabetic stiff hand syndrome, Dupuytren's contracture, palmar and plantar
fasciitis, retroperitoneal fibrosis, and Peyronie's disease. In WJ Koopman, LW
Moreland, eds., Arthritis and Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology, 15th ed., vol. 2, pp. 2093–2108. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
