After careful deliberation, I decided on Xiaflex injections for my little finger that was bent in a curled position. I had to get a Pell Grant as the cost was over $5000 and my insurance had a 20% copay. My dr only used a topical anesthetic so when the injections (6) went in the pain was like an electrical shock. The dr said that the pain was caused by the medicine getting through the thickness of the cords. It definitely left me limp. The bruising and swelling started soon after. In all the videos I watched no one was as bruised and swollen as I was. My entire arm up to the arm pit was deep red and blue. The dr manipulated my finger on the second day after the injections and even though I had a pain injection in the hand, the pain of breaking the cords was stunning. The finger however straightened and I was elated. I kept it iced and practiced massaaging and moving the finger. In two days the dr will investigate my hand after two weeks and I think she will be very pleased at how the bruising and the knots have dissolved. The joint is still quite painful but I keep massaging and moving the finger to keep the tissues from knotting up again.
I broke my chord while trying to break my fall..as my hand hit the concrete, I heard the chord snap, my finger straigthened... but side effects are swelling and tenderness around the knuckles, fingers and hand in general. What ahould I do now for treatment now that the chord ruptured?
Went through the Xiaflex injection procedure at Ralph Johnson, Charleston, S.C. unsuccessfully. The cord did NOT break. Yes, the needle injection stings like a hornet. Three injections of Xiaflex into the cord. Follow up appointment 6 days later, the cord DID NOT break. Luckily this procedure was free for me but very disappointing... Handsdown - failure.
Yes, it hurts like hell, as does the anaethetic the next day. But only for about 30 seconds each time. It is well worth a minutes pain as the results are brilliant. My hand is like new now.
Hurts like a m*****f*****, but I had a couple very cool nurses to hold me down. The doc and nurses were awesome, and the contracture snapped within 5 seconds. Update -- 2 months later and the hand is getting stronger every day. I'm up to about an hour a day at the piano, pulled out some tougher pieces. It's wonderful, and it's worth every bit of the pain.
Sorry to report that it hurt like hell! The shot to numb my palm on the first day was tolerable but the same shot the next day was horrible. With my palm swollen and tender the needle nearly sent me through the roof. I had three such Xiaflex treatments and, again, sorry to say, all three fingers went back to 90 degrees within 18 months. Every person is different, of course, but for me this option was not successful.
Sorry to hear it didn't work for you. I have three fingers involved, but the pinky on my left hand was at 130(?) degrees, totally unusable. It could be that the finger was so far gone that the procedure worked better for me.
