Achilles tendon

BACKGROUND: Limited-open and percutaneous Achilles tendon (AT) repair techniques have limited visibility, which may result in sural nerve violation and poor tendon targeting. The goal of this study was to assess the in vivo rotation of the AT and its distance to the sural nerve in ruptured and nonruptured ATs to develop guidelines to aid in limited-open and percutaneous repair techniques. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted to identify magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of patients with ruptured and healthy (nonruptured) ATs...

BACKGROUND: Chronic ruptures of the Achilles tendon cause marked functional impairment. Given the different repair techniques used, there is a need for a systematic review of the literature to investigate whether these procedure are comparable with one another when performed by experienced surgeons. SOURCES OF DATA: A systematic literature search using the Medline (Pubmed), EMBASE and CINHAL databases. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: Provided there are no contraindications, surgery is regarded the best management option...

BACKGROUND: Chronic tears of the Achilles tendon can result in substantial loss of function. Those tears with a tendon gap of up to 6.5 cm can be treated surgically with use of an autologous peroneus brevis tendon graft. METHODS: At an average follow-up period of 15.5 years after the surgery, we examined sixteen of twenty-two patients who had undergone peroneus brevis tendon graft reconstruction for a chronic Achilles tendon tear. Clinical and functional assessment was performed...

BACKGROUND: Multiple percutaneous longitudinal tenotomies have been successfully undertaken in runners with isolated midportion Achilles tendinopathy (nodular lesions <2.5 cm) without any sign of paratendinopathy. HYPOTHESIS: In the long term, minimally invasive multiple tenotomies allow the patient to remain involved in middle- and long-distance running. Clinical and ultrasound (US) evidence of paratendinopathy is a negative prognostic factor. STUDY DESIGN: Case series study; Level of evidence, 4...

BACKGROUND: Achilles tendon ruptures represent more than 40% of all tendon ruptures requiring surgical management. About 20% of acute Achilles tendon tears are not diagnosed at the time of injury and become chronic, necessitating more complicated management than fresh injuries. Several techniques for the reconstruction of chronic tears of the Achilles tendon have been described, but the superiority of one technique over the others has not been demonstrated. HYPOTHESIS: Mini-invasive reconstruction of the Achilles tendon, with a gap lesion larger than 6 cm, using the ipsilateral free semitendinosus tendon graft will result in improvement of the overall function with a low rate of complications...