Dupuytrens disease is a fibrosing condition of the palmar aponeurosis and its extensions within the digits. Normal fascial fibres running longitudinally in the subcutaneous tissues of the palm become thickened and form the characteristic nodules and cords pathognomonic of Dupuytrens disease. A wide variety of surgical interventions exist, of these the partial fasciectomy remains the most conventional and widely used technique. Minimally invasive surgical treatments such as needle fasciotomy are, however, becoming increasingly popular. Dupuytrens disease remains a challenging condition to treat as recurrence is universally found with all surgical interventions. Although recurrence may be related to the severity of the disease, there are currently no research tools other than clinical examination to examine changes in the diseased tissue postoperatively and predict likelihood of long-term success.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) may be of value for the study of Dupuytren disease, at present its use has been greatly underexplored. We wished to carry out a pilot study in order to examine the possibility of using 3.0 Tesla MRI to study Dupuytren tissue and then furthermore to examine the potential changes post-operatively following percutaneous fasciotomy.

Five patients set to undergo percutaneous needle fasciotomy were recruited and consented for the study. All patients underwent MRI scanning of the affected hand pre-operatively and at two weeks post-operatively. Scanning was carried out in the 3.0 Tesla research MRI scanner at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Patients were placed prone in the MRI scanner with the hand outstretched above the head in the so-called “Superman” position. A specially designed wrist and hand coil was used. Under the expertise of radiographers and physicists, image capture encompassed four novel scanning sequences in order to make a volumetric three-dimensional image sample of the affected hand. MIPAV software (Bethesda, Maryland) was used for image analysis.

Scanning revealed well defined anatomy. The Dupuytren cord arose from the palmar aponeurosis tissue which is deep to the palmar skin and subcutaneous tissue. It was distinctly different to deep structures such as the flexor tendons and intrinsic hand muscles which appeared with a uniform low and high signal respectively. The Dupuytren tissue had a heterogeneous signal on both T1 and T2 images. On T1 the tissue signal appeared high to intermediate, similar to that of bone and muscle, but low areas of signal were observed diffusely in an irregular fashion throughout. On T2 the tissue had a low signal throughout with some focal areas of high signal. Dupuytren tissue was mapped using MIPAV software for pre- and post-operative comparisons. Signal intensity, surface area and volume of the cords and fasciotomy sites were explored.

Our initial results suggest MRI can be used to study Dupuytren tissue. Such a research tool may be of use to study the natural history of Dupuytren disease and furthermore, the response to medical and surgical interventions.