What Happens After Radiotherapy Treatment?
What side-effects should I expect in the weeks after radiotherapy treatment? Radiotherapy treatment may cause mild redness, soreness and dryness of the skin in the targeted area. This tends to start about 2-3 weeks after each phase (week) of treatment. Rarely, the skin may crack, weep or swell up. In the majority of cases, these […]
Repeating Radiotherapy For Early Dupuytren’s & Ledderhose Disease
This blog post discusses whether repeating radiotherapy for Dupuytren’s or Ledderhose disease should be done. I have tried to keep in mind the overriding principle of “first do no harm”, while allowing re-irradiation in certain defined circumstances. This post is aimed both towards patients and radiation oncologists. Radiotherapy is effective at the prevention of contracture […]
Radiotherapy Treatment For The Complex Hand
This blog post is how to treat patients with radiotherapy for Dupuytren’s disease who do not strictly fit the NICE guidelines. Such documents aim to simplify reality by fitting each patient into a clearly defined category. In particular, the guidelines state that radiotherapy can be used for patients with early Dupuytren’s disease (i.e. where there […]
Radiotherapy Treatment: Electrons vs X-rays
I’ve been asked many times about the difference between electrons and superficial X-rays when we use radiotherapy treatment for Dupuytren’s and Ledderhose disease. I have therefore written this blog post to write about how they both work, with particular notes on the similarities and differences between them. Fundamentally, how does radiotherapy affect tissues? Tissue is made up […]
When is it too early for Radiotherapy for Dupuytren’s disease?
Radiotherapy is effective in “early progressive disease”. To explain what this means: “Disease” means that there is a confirmed diagnosis of Dupuytren’s disease i.e. that you have nodules with or without cords and skin retraction (dimpling) and that this has been confirmed as Dupuytren’s disease by a suitably qualified and experienced doctor, for instance a […]