The complications of Dupuytren's contracture surgery.

PURPOSE: To determine the complication rate of a modified Skoog's technique in the surgical treatment of Dupuytren's contracture.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis was performed on 253 patients who had surgery by 1 surgeon using 1 technique with a mean follow-up period of 3.6 years. We studied the complication rate of the modified Skoog's procedure, relating it to a grading system for disease severity. A separate prospective long-term study was performed with an unselected cohort in which disease recurrence producing contracture was investigated prospectively in a group of 75 patients.

RESULTS

Complications occurred in 46 patients. Thirty-five patients had 1 complication and 11 patients had more than 1 complication. Intraoperative complications included 6 patients with nerve injury and 1 patient with an arterial injury. Early postoperative complications before wound healing included 5 patients with digital hematoma, 24 patients with wound infection, 6 patients with sympathetic dystrophy, and 6 patients with skin slough. Late postoperative complications included 3 patients with scar contraction and 2 patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. There were 3 non-hand-related complications: 1 urinary retention, 1 left ventricular failure, and 1 myocardial infarction. Recurrence of Dupuytren's disease occurred in 23 of 75 patients after a mean follow-up period of 9.4 years.

CONCLUSIONS

The complication rate increased with the severity of disease particularly if the proximal interphalangeal joint contracture was 60 degrees or more. There was no difference in the complication rate for patients who had surgery for primary or recurrent disease.