Nonoperative Treatment of Dupuytren's Disease

Many approaches to nonoperative treatment of Dupuytren's disease have been tried since the disease was originally described in 1831, and most have been abandoned. Nonetheless, the appeal for nonoperative methods persists, in pursuit of lower morbidity and lesser complications than may be encountered with open surgical treatment. A number of nonoperative treatment modalities are in current use for Dupuytren's disease, despite lack of high-level clinical studies supporting these methods. Some of these can be utilized as an adjunct to surgical treatment rather than a replacement for it. The most commonly used nonoperative treatment methods are briefly reviewed.

Key words: Dupuytren's disease, non-Dupuytren's disease, history, investigational therapies