Dupuytren’s disease, also known as Viking’s disease, is the medical condition that causes the finger to be involuntarily curled up. This condition was named after the surgeon who proposed an operation to correct the syndrome. This syndrome severely hinders the ability of a person to perform everyday normal tasks. The loss of motion can be attributed to the abnormal formation of muscle tissue under the palm, which causes the fingers to contract.
A simple test for Dupuytren’s disease is the tabletop test. The patient places his or her hand on a table: if significant space exists between the finger and the surface of the table, the test for Dupuytren’s disease is positive. The tissue affected is the palmar fascia; its main function is to strengthen…show more content… For example, a 50 year old, northern European male with a family history of Dupuytren’s disease would have the highest risk of contracting the condition. Once a patient is diagnosed with the condition there are the following choices of radiotherapy or surgery. Radiotherapy is commonly used as a prevention method or as a treatment in early stages of Dupuytren’s disease. The purpose of this treatment is to cease the progression of the disease and prevent it from worsening. Radiotherapy involves exposing the affected hand to radioactive waves, which serves to inhibit the dividing cells. This treatment is has a fairly high success rate but is only effective at early stages of Dupuytren’s disease. For more advanced stages of Dupuytren’s disease, the only option is surgery. One method is the removal of the diseased tissue from the hand, however there is still a significant possibility of the condition reoccurring. Another approach for more intermediate cases favours a partial curvature to the finger as opposed to a complete curling up of the finger; the joints are fused together to halt the progression of the