Dupuytren's contracture

Dupuytren's contracture is a fixed flexion contracture of the hand where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully extended or straightened. It is named after the famous surgeon Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, who described an operation to correct the affliction.

The ring finger and little finger are the fingers most commonly affected; the middle finger may be affected in advanced cases, but index finger and 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. As a result, the affected fingers start to bend more and more and cannot be straightened.

With Dupuytren's disease, the tough connective tissue within one's hand becomes abnormally thick, which can cause the fingers to curl, and can result in impaired function of the fingers, especially the small and ring fingers. It usually has a gradual onset, often beginning as a tender lump in the palm. Over time, pain associated with the condition tends to go away, but tough bands of tissue may develop. [1] These bands, which are the source of the reduced mobility commonly associated with the condition, are visible on the surface of the palm, and may appear similar to a small callus. It commonly develops in both hands, and has no connection to dominant- or non-dominant hands, nor any correlation with right- or left-handedness.

The contracture sets on very slowly, especially in women. However, when present in both hands, and when there is associated foot involvement, it tends to accelerate more rapidly.