Dupuytren's contracture. Coloured X-ray of the hand of an 80-year-old female patient with Dupuytren's contracture. This is a flexion (bending) deformity of the finger, where it has become fixed in a bent position. This condition occurs when tissue in the palm of the hand thickens and shortens, preventing the tendons attached to the fingers from moving freely. The condition tends to slowly get worse over several months and years. Surgery attempts to free the tendons to straighten any affected fingers, however this does not always work.