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Operative treatment of achilles tendon rupture: a minimally invasive technique allowing functional after-treatment

  • New Techniques
  • Published:
Orthopaedics and Traumatology

Summary

Objectives

Surgical repair of ruptured Achilles tendon with minimal additional tissue damage. Functional after-treatment.

Indications

All types of Achilles tendon rupture.

Contraindications

Fractured calcaneus or local infection.

4Surgical Technique

Small skin incision medial to tendon, centered partly above the gap. Limited opening of paratenon, an atraumatic PDS® suture is passed through the healthy part proximal to the rupture and led subcutaneously to a hole drilled into the calcaneal tuberosity. The thread is passed through the drill hole and subcutaneously to the other free end of the suture at the medial side of the tendon proximal to the rupture. Functional after-treatment for 6 weeks.

Results

Review of 59 patients with an average follow-up of 2 years. Ninety-five percent of the ruptures occurred during sporting activities. Eighty-eight percent of the patients returned to their original level of sport. Two reruptures were encountered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University Hospital Utrecht, P.O. Box 85500, NL-3508 GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Taco Sjoerd Bijlsma & Christiaan van der Werken

Authors
  1. Taco Sjoerd Bijlsma
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  2. Christiaan van der Werken
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Bijlsma, T.S., van der Werken, C. Operative treatment of achilles tendon rupture: a minimally invasive technique allowing functional after-treatment. Orthop Traumatol 8, 285–290 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03181110

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03181110

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