Dupuytren's Contracture

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Dupuytren's contracture (also known as morbus Dupuytren, Dupuytren's disease, or palmar fibromatosis, and sometimes misidentified as Dupuytren's constricture) is a fixed flexion contracture of the hand where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully extended (straightened). It is named after Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, the surgeon who described an...
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Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Dupuytren's contracture (also known as morbus Dupuytren, Dupuytren's disease, or palmar fibromatosis, and sometimes misidentified as Dupuytren's constricture) is a fixed flexion contracture of the hand where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully extended (straightened). It is named after Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, the surgeon who described an operation to correct the affliction. Dupuytren's contracture is caused by underlying contractures of the palmar fascia. The ring finger and little finger are the fingers most commonly affected. The middle finger may be affected in advanced cases, but the index finger and the thumb are nearly always spared. Dupuytren's contracture progresses slowly and is usually painless. In patients with this condition, the tissues under the skin on the palm of the hand thicken and shorten so that the tendons connected to the fingers cannot move freely. The palmar aponeurosis becomes hyperplastic and undergoes contracture. Incidence increases after the age of 40; at this age men are affected more often than women. After the age of 80 the distribution is about even.