A retrospective study was made of 41 cases of Dupuytren's disease observed from 1970 to 1988 at the Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan. The patients' ages ranged from 49 to 78 years; 21 patients had only one hand involved; 20 patients showed bilateral involvement. Thirty-three of 35 diseased hands with contracture were treated by regional fasciectomy. A follow-up study was done in 32 hands. The operative results of 30 hands were rated as good (94%); 3 showed extension of the disease and 1 had evidence of recurrence. Treatment was not given to 26 hands without contracture; 14 of these showed no change in the lesions, 3 improved, and 6 were worse when seen on subsequent visits. Seventeen of 33 excised thickened palmar fasciae contained nodules. All histological sections of nodule-free specimens showed dense connective tissues. Based on the fibroblastic activity and the amount of collagen, three easily discernible features of the histological make-up of the nodules were found.