UMC Human Motion Institute Offers New Treatment for Hand Condition

2010

A Tucson man will be the first in Southern Arizona to receive a new therapy to correct the hand deformity known as Dupuytren’s contracture at University Medical Center’s Human Motion Institute, 707 N. Alvernon Way, at 8 a.m. Thursday, July 22.

Joseph E. Sheppard, MD, professor in the University of Arizona Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, will administer an Xiaflex injection into the patient’s hand. This will be the first use in Tucson of this new outpatient therapy, developed by Auxulium Pharmaceuticals Inc. and recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Until now, surgery was considered the only effective treatment.

Dupuytren’s contracture is a condition that affects the connective tissue that lies beneath the skin in the palm. Typically, the skin pits and then nodules develop in the palm as collagen deposits accumulate. As the disease progresses, the collagen deposits form a cord that stretches from the palm of the hand to the base of the finger. Once this cord develops, the patient’s fingers contract and the function of the hand is impaired.

The incidence of Dupuytren's disease, is highest in Caucasians, particularly those of Northern European descent, with a global prevalence of three to six percent of the Caucasian population. Most cases of Dupuytren's contracture occur in patients older than 50 years. The disease is named for Baron Guillaume Dupuytren, the surgeon who described an operation to correct the affliction.