Introduction
Many surgical techniques have been advocated to treat Dupuytren’s contracture. Partial fasciectomy is often performed to treat
the whole spectrum of Dupuytren’s disease.
Method
We have reviewed the effectiveness of total aponeurectomy performed on 61 patients [10 women and 51 men (male:female ratio
5.1:1) with a mean age of 63.0 (range 42–79 years) and a mean follow-up of 3.45 years (range 1.03–6.39 years)].
Results
Post-operative complications including haematoma, seroma or necrosis were found in 13.8% of the patients. Recurrence of contracture
occurred in 10.8% of the patients and 4.6% of the operated patients presented with a nerve lesion. Nerve irritation occurred
in 6.2% of the patients. The mean DASH-score was 3.85 (range 0–52.5). Family pre-disposition was an important risk factor
for Dupuytren’s disease with 44.3% of patients having a positive family history.
Conclusion
We suggest that total aponeurectomy is a promising alternative to partial fasciectomy with low risk for a recurrence and slightly
increased risk for a nerve lesion.
Keywords Dupuytren’s contracture - Recurrence - Total aponeurectomy - Partial aponeurectomy