About this decision aid

The Dupuytren's Decision Aid is a free, interactive tool that helps people with Dupuytren's contracture understand their options and prepare for a conversation with their hand surgeon. It walks you through the same questions a clinic would ask — whether your hand still lies flat on a table, whether the bending is getting in the way of daily life, and how much the knuckle or the middle joint is bent — and then lays out the treatments side by side.

For each option — doing nothing, needle fasciotomy, collagenase injection, limited fasciectomy, radiotherapy and others — the tool shows how well it straightens the finger, how often the contracture comes back, what the risks and recovery involve, what it typically costs, and how insurers tend to treat it. Every figure is presented out of 100 people, so the numbers are easy to compare rather than buried in percentages.

It is written for patients and for the people helping them decide: someone who has just noticed a lump in their palm, someone whose finger has started to curl, and someone weighing a second procedure after a recurrence. It is also useful for family members who want to understand what the choices actually involve, and for clinicians who want a shared starting point for the consultation.

The aid is built and maintained by BOSM PLLC as a patient-education resource. The clinical content follows the NHS England patient decision aid "Making a decision about: Dupuytren's contracture" (2022) and published systematic reviews on recurrence after each treatment. Sources are linked next to the relevant sections throughout the tool.

This is a decision aid, not medical advice. It cannot examine your hand, and it does not replace an assessment by a qualified clinician who can consider your age, the severity of your disease and your personal circumstances.