Abstract
In December 2012 the orthopaedic Hand and wrist unit at Derriford hospital introduced the use of collagenase injections for the treatment of Dupuytrens' contracture, and currently remains the only centre to use it in the southwest peninsula.
We present the short term results of our first year of use of the therapy. There was a statistically significant improvement in PEM scores by 1 and 3 months post-treatment (P: 0.0001 and 0.0016 with 95% confidence).
Full correction was obtained in 81% of all MCPJ contractures included in the analysis. Success with PIPJ contractures was more limited, however there was still an average correction of 30 degrees achieved.
Complications were limited to skin tears, all of which healed at subsequent follow-up, and 2 failures of therapy. We will continue to use this therapy and as experience and expertise build we hope we can improve our outcomes further.
