Australian Ledderhose surgery patient

Today I have another patient interview. This was sitting in my IDS forum inbox for a month without me realising. It is with a surgery patient from Australia. 

Where are you from? 

Adelaide, Australia

Do you have Ledderhose and Dupuytren's? 

Yes, I have Both conditions and have had so for approx. 8 years

Do you have a family history of this condition?

 None that I am aware of.

How did you find the medical awareness of these conditions? 

I was misdiagnosed for approx. 4 years as having Ganglion's and it was only by sheer luck that my new GP had heard of Ledderhose from a fellow practitioner a week before I presented myself to him

You had surgery, were you made aware of the risks of having this? 

I was told "As with any surgery there are risks". But it was never explained what those risks might be.

What condition were you in when you had the surgery? 

At the time of my initial surgery I was what I believe to be as Stage 4. Some days I could barely place any weight on my feet and I would often wake in the night screaming as my feet contracted on themselves.

Could you please describe the surgery process and recovery? 

I underwent the Ankle Block procedure and an S shape incision was made, then as much of the Mass was removed as possible. I was then instructed to stay off my feet and keep them elevated for at least 4 weeks.

How successful would you say the surgery has been? 

Completely unsuccessful, the Mass had already begun to return within the 4 week period of elevation immediately following the surgery.

What other treatment options are you looking into? 

At the moment I am awaiting an appointment with an Oncologist to discuss Radiotherapy. It disgusts me that this was not the first option given to me. I don't believe that because the condition was largely prevalent in my feet that an Orthopaedic Surgeon was the right option. Based on the information on this site a Specialist with this condition should have been the first step, so that I could then be advised of all treatment options.

For example, while I was in the later stages of Ledderhose and surgery may well have been my only option it should have been part of my treatment regime to have undergone Radiotherapy immediately after surgery.

It is interesting to hear of this patients experience, especially with regards to the lack of information they were provided with before undergoing surgery. As this patient said there is no reason why other options (such as radiotherapy) could not be offered before surgery was attempted.