OMB No. 0925-0001/0002 (Rev. 08/12 Approved Through 8/31/2015)
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
NAME: Eaton, Charles James
eRA COMMONS USER NAME: DUPUYTREN
POSITION TITLE: President, Dupuytren Foundation
EDUCATION/TRAINING
INSTITUTION AND LOCATION
DEGREE
(if
applicable)
Completion
Date
MM/YYYY
FIELD OF STUDY
Emory University, Atlanta, GA, US
BS
06/1976
Physics
Washington University, St. Louis, MO, US
MD
06/1980
Medicine
Boston University, Boston, MA, US
Residency
06/1985
General Surgery
New York University, New York, NY, US
Residency
06/1987
Plastic Surgery
New York University, New York, NY, US
Fellowship
06/1988
Hand Surgery
Microsurgery Research Centre, Melbourne,
Victoria, AU
Fellowship
12/1989
Hand Surgery and
Microsurgery
A. Personal Statement
I am a hand surgeon with unique experience and deep commitment to the challenge of Dupuytren disease. I
was the first physician to introduce the United States to the technique of needle aponeurotomy for Dupuytren
contracture, which I travelled to Paris to learn. From 2003 until I closed my practice in 2012, I treated about
1000 Dupuytren hands each year. This is an order of magnitude greater than the experience of most hand
surgeons. I have personally met and treated more patients with Dupuytren disease than any other US
physician. This experience demonstrated to me that current treatments for Dupuytren disease are inadequate,
that Dupuytren patients are a chronically underserved population, and that a coordinated effort is required to
improve understanding of Dupuytren biology and develop better treatments. This prompted me to establish the
Dupuytren Foundation, a non-profit public charity with the mission of supporting work to find a cure for
Dupuytren Disease. I organized and The Dupuytren Foundation hosted the 2010 International Symposium on
Dupuytren Disease, which introduced to each other an international community of Dupuytren researchers and
practitioners and led to the collaborative publication of a new textbook on Dupuytren disease. I am on the
organizing committee for the five-year follow up to this symposium scheduled for May 2015 in Groningen, The
Netherlands. I now volunteer full time running the Dupuytren Foundation, which is about to launch the
International Dupuytren Data Bank, a patient centered research project with aims of collecting longitudinal
clinical data and biospecimen analysis on 10,000 Dupuytren patients to identify molecular targets and develop
targeted biologic treatment for Dupuytren disease and related conditions. My activities were constrained from
1996 to 2004 during which time I was the primary caregiver for my brain injured wife and our four small
children following complications of treatment of my wife’s malignant brain tumor.
1. Eaton C: Percutaneous Fasciotomy for Dupuytren's Contracture. J Hand Surg 36A(5):910-15, 2011.
2. Eaton C, Seegenschmeidt M, Wach W: IDUP: Proposal for an International Research Database. In:
Eaton C, Seegenschmiedt M, et. al (Eds) Dupuytren’s Disease and Related Hyperproliferative
Disorders Principles, Research, and Clinical Perspectives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 p
449-454.
3. Eaton C: The Future of Dupuytren’s Research and Treatment. In: Eaton C, Seegenschmiedt M, et. al
(Eds) Dupuytren’s Disease and Related Hyperproliferative Disorders Principles, Research, and Clinical
Perspectives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 p 455-470.
4. Eaton C. Evidence-based medicine: Dupuytren contracture. Plas Rec Surg 2014;133:1241–51.
B. Positions and Honors
Positions and Employment
1990-1992
Assistant Professor Plastic Surgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
1992-2012
Solo Private Practice Hand Surgeon, Palm Beach County, FL
2008 President, Dupuytren Foundation, West Palm Beach FL
Other Experiences and Professional Memberships
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Member, American Association for Hand Surgery
Member, American Society for Surgery of the Hand, served terms on the Education Committee, Young
Members Committee, and as Chair of the Website Committee
Volunteer Interplast Hand surgeon, Bolivia, 1999
Project Access Volunteer Surgeon, Palm Beach County 2005-2012
Founder and president, Dupuytren Foundation
Board member, International Dupuytren Society
Honors
1972 – 1976
1976 -1980
1980-1985
1987
2012
2012
College Honor Societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Pi Sigma, Stipe Society of Scholars
Medical School: Class President all four years, Southern Medical Association Delegate
General Surgery Residency: Residency Representative all five years; Winner: In-training Exam
Plastic Surgery Residency: 1987 Residency Research Award Winner: Hand Skin Kinematics
Invited Visiting Professor, American Society for Surgery of the Hand
Invited Honored Professor, Philadelphia Hand Surgery Symposium
C. Contributions to Science
1. My first publications reflect my position as a medical student, general surgery resident, plastic surgery
resident and hand fellow, and show involvement in a diverse range of topics.
a. Rao, BR, Nakeff, A, Eaton, CJ, Heston, WDW: Establishment and Characterization of an in vitro
clonogenic cell assay for the R3327-AT Copenhagen rat prostatic tumor, Cancer Res 38:44314439, 1979.
b. Gaber, AO, Rice, P, Eaton, CJ., Pietrafitta, JJ, Spatz, E, Deckers, PJ: Metastatic Malignant
Disease of Unknown Origin, Am J Surg 145:493-397, 1983.
c. Feng, LJ, Eaton, CJ: Soft-Tissue Infection in Lower Extremity Trauma. Clin Plas Surg 13: 735745, 1986
d. Breitbart, AS, Eaton, CJ, McCarthy, JG: Crouzon's Syndrome Associated with Acanthosis
Nigricans: Ramifications for the Craniofacial Surgeon: Ann Plas Surg 22 (4): 310-5, 1989.
e. Feng, LJ, Eaton, CJ: Soft Tissue Infection in Lower Extremity Trauma. Clin Podia Med Surg
8(3), 449-466, 1990.
f. Chen, HC, O'Brien, B McC, Rogers, IW, Pribaz, JJ, Eaton, CJ: Lymph Node Transfer for the
Treatment of Obstructive Lymphoedema in a Canine Model. Br J. Plas Surg 43: 578-586, 1990.
2. My early career publications parallel my specialization in hand and microvascular surgery, which
themselves have broad span of topics.
a. Eaton, CJ, Lister, GD: Toe Transfer for Congenital Hand Anomalies. Microsurgery 12:186-195,
1991.
b. Eaton, CJ, Lister, GD: Treatment of Skin and Soft Tissue Loss of the Thumb. Hand Clinics 8:7199, 1992
c. Smutz WP, Miller SC, Eaton CJ, Bloswick DS, France EP: Investigation of low-force highfrequency activities on the development of carpal-tunnel syndrome. Clin Biomech 9:15-20,
1994.
d. Mordick TG, Romanowski L, Eaton C, Siemionow M: Micovascular Application of the
Nonreversed Vein Graft. Plas Rec Surg 95:731-736, 1995
e. Eaton CJ, Mitchell GM, Crowe DM, Morrison WA O'Brien BM: The effect of cold ischemia on the
patency of microvascular repair following arterial avulsion. Plas Rec Surg 96:413-20, 1995.
3. Recognition from my peers resulted in invitations to write textbook chapters on hand related topics.
a. Eaton CJ: Thumb Reconstruction. In: Grabb & Smith's Plastic Surgery. Lippincott Raven
Publishers, Philadelphia. 929-938, 1997.
b. Eaton C, Masson J, Siebert, J: Hand Infections in Intravenous Drug Abusers and
Immunocompromised Patients. In: Tubiana, R: The Hand (Vol V). W B Saunders, Philadelphia.
604-616, 1998.
c. Eaton C: Complications in Hand Surgery In: Cohn S: Complications in Surgery and Trauma.
Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. New York. 429-462, 2007.
d. Eaton CJ: Thumb Reconstruction. In: Grabb & Smith's Plastic Surgery. Lippincott Raven
Publishers, Philadelphia 835-846, 2007.
4. Publications in the last decade primarily reflect my concentrated involvement in the forefront of work on
Dupuytren disease.
a. Eaton C: Percutaneous Fasciotomy for Dupuytren's Contracture. J Hand Surg 36A(5):910-15,
2011.
b. Eaton C: Minimally Invasive Treatment of Dupuytren Disease. American Academy of
Orthopaedic Surgeons Web site: Orthopaedic Knowledge Online 2011 9(12):
http://orthoportal.aaos.org/oko/article.aspx?article=OKO_HAN034.
c. Benhaim P, Eaton C, Hentz VR, Jones NF, Kamal S: Treatment of Dupuytren’s Disease. Hand
Surgery Quarterly, Winter 2011 10-17.
d. Eaton CJ. Commentary on “Injectable Collagenase Clostridium Hystolyticum: A New
Nonsurgical Treatment for Dupuytren’s Disease”. In Hausman MR, Ed. JHS Select: An Expert
Critique of 2010’s Most Popular Articles. Chicago, IL: American Society for Surgery of the Hand,
2012: 45-47.
e. Davis P, Eaton C: Hand Therapy for Dupuytren’s Contracture. In: Eaton C, Seegenschmiedt M,
et. al (Eds) Dupuytren’s Disease and Related Hyperproliferative Disorders Principles, Research,
and Clinical Perspectives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 p 305-316.
f. Eaton C: A Technique of Needle Aponeurotomy for Dupuytren’s Contracture. In: Eaton C,
Seegenschmiedt M, et. al (Eds) Dupuytren’s Disease and Related Hyperproliferative Disorders
Principles, Research, and Clinical Perspectives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 p
267-280.
g. Eaton C, Seegenschmeidt M, Wach W: IDUP: Proposal for an International Research Database.
In: Eaton C, Seegenschmiedt M, et. al (Eds) Dupuytren’s Disease and Related
Hyperproliferative Disorders Principles, Research, and Clinical Perspectives. Springer-Verlag,
Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 p 449-454.
h. Eaton C: The Future of Dupuytren’s Research and Treatment. In: Eaton C, Seegenschmiedt M,
et. al (Eds) Dupuytren’s Disease and Related Hyperproliferative Disorders Principles, Research,
and Clinical Perspectives. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2012 p 455-470.
i. Eaton CJ. Commentary on “Steroid Injection and Needle Aponeurotomy for Dupuytren
Contracture: A Randomized, Controlled Study”. In Hausman MR, Ed. JHS Select: An Expert
Critique of 2011 & 2012’s Most Popular Articles. Chicago, IL: American Society for Surgery of
the Hand, 2013: 261-263.
j. Murphy A, Lalonde D, Eaton C, Denkler K, Hovius SER, Smith A, Martin A, Biswas A, Van
Nieuwenhoven C: Minimally Invasive Options in Dupuytren’s Contracture: Aponeurotomy,
Enzymes, Stretching, and Fat Grafting. Plas Rec Surg 2014 134(5) 822e–829e.
k. Eaton C. Evidence-based medicine: Dupuytren contracture. Plas Rec Surg 2014;133:1241–51.
Complete List of Published Work in MyBibliography:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/1nupX8gwx_FQa/bibliography/47595189/public/
D. Research Support