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The management of acute and neglected subcutaneous tears of the Achilles tendon by peroneus tendon transfer is safe but technically demanding. It affords good recovery, even in patients with a long-term neglected rupture. Patients with a neglected rupture are at a slightly greater risk of post-operative complications and may never fully recover their ankle plantar flexion strength.
Harvested hamstring tendons were recently shown to possess the ability to regrow and regain their function in flexing the knee joint. In this study, we report a case of failed regrowth of previously harvested semitendinosus tendon to its original insertion site in a 24-year-old professional soccer player. The disturbance resulted in the formation of a clearly visible Popeye-type muscular prominence in the proximal thigh and a notable gap in the midthigh distal to the muscular prominence in knee flexion. Furthermore, 6 months after surgery, in the second full-speed soccer practice, the patient experienced a sudden sharp pain in his hamstring muscles, which was later diagnosed as being from a strain of the semitendinosus muscle.
Rupture of the tendons of both peroneus longus and peroneus brevis results in considerable disability. We have performed transfer of flexor digitorum longus (FDL) to peroneus brevis in two patients with lateral instability of the hindfoot due to chronic transverse tears of both tendons for which end-to-end repair was not possible. Both patients had excellent function when reviewed after eight and six years, respectively, with no symptoms. CT showed a normal appearance of the FDL in both patients, but the peroneal muscles looked abnormal. Transfer of the FDL provides a reliable solution to lateral instability of the hindfoot resulting from loss of function of both peronei.
After reconstruction of a flexor profundus tendon with a free graft passed through or around an intact superficialis decussation, impaired function may result if adherences develop. In an attempt to avoid adherences, early mobilization using Kleinert's method was applied in 20 grafts. At follow-up, on average 36 months after operation, all the patients had improved ROM except one patient with tendinous infection one year postoperatively. On average the gain in DIP-joint flexion was 34 degrees, while six patients had a loss of 17 degrees and 12 patients a gain of 22 degrees in PIP-joint motion. Only nine patients required a few weeks of occupational therapy. It is concluded that early mobilization a.m. Kleinert after tendon grafting is a safe method for prevention of loss of PIP-joint motion due to the formation of adherences.
Fifty-seven patients treated for an acute rupture of the Achilles tendon were studied. The patients were randomized into a Mason suture technique or a reinforced continuous six-strand suture technique, and markers were attached to each tendon end perioperatively. The postoperative separation of the markers was studied by repeat radiographic examination. Despite immobilization, separation developed after a biphasic course, and after 7 weeks the mean separation was 10.5 mm. No difference was found between the two techniques. We attempt to correlate the separation to the clinical outcome, examined at 1 year follow up.
While tendon ruptures are common, isolated transverse rupture of the peroneus brevis is an unusual occurrence. The etiology and diagnosis will be discussed in this manuscript. Also, the surgical treatment by use of a free split thickness tendon graft will be reviewed.
This investigation was designed to study the long-term effects of surgical treatment, as recommended and followed in clinical practice, on the fine structure of rabbit crural muscles after Achilles tenotomy. Two main results were made: (A) Even after 12 weeks of mobilization a number of morphological changes were found, especially in the soleus muscles. These abnormalities were similar to those found in human soleus muscles after surgically treated Achilles tendon rupture. (B) There were a large number of small heavily stained (for myofibrillar ATPase at pH 9.4) fibres in the experimental soleus muscles, such that the normal ratio of fibre types was reversed. This was apparent if tendon suture had been performed after a delay of 3 weeks. The results suggested that as a consequence of the de- and regenerative events, induced by immobilization or tenotomy plus immobilization, a number of new fibres had been formed. Some of these were so short that they were out of reach of nerve terminals and remained non-innervated. Furthermore, from the point of view of clinical practice, the extensive long-term effects of suture delay make themselves manifest not until at least a delay of one week.
The purpose, as well as the value, of the two-stage system in the salvage situation is for the surgeon to perform all the reconstructive surgery needed at Stage 1. Nerves are repaired, vessels are repaired if necessary, the intrinsic system is inspected, a Swanson implant is added if needed, and pulleys are built. If everything is done correctly at Stage 1 and if the tendon grafting technique goes well, the patient will have a good result. The concept of the active tendon implant with its many possible applications will set a trend for great advancement in the future.
After severe injury to the dorsum of the hand, it may not be possible to directly repair the extensor tendons. Patients in this article were treated by initial skin replacement with pedicle flaps for coverage prior to extensor tendon grafting. Multiple operative procedures were necessary, but restoration was uniformly successful.
Eight patients with Achilles tendon ruptures, one of which was a late discovery, underwent peroneus brevis tendon transfers to repair their injuries. Subsequently, both the repaired and normal extremities of all eight patients were tested for eversion and plantar flexion strength. The Cybex 340 isokinetic system (Lumex Corp, Bayshore, New York) was used at both 30 degrees per second and 120 degrees per second. Patients' affected sides were then assessed subjectively for function compared with their opposite normal sides. Results for eversion strength showed a 17.4% deficit at 30 degrees per second and a 14.9% deficit at 120 degrees per second on the repaired extremity. Only the group with the 14.9% deficit showed a statistically significant difference using the paired t test (P < 0.05). Results for plantar flexion strength showed a 1.5% difference at 30 degrees per second and a 5.8% difference at 120 degrees per second. None of these differences were statistically significant. Subjective assessment showed no functional compromise in eversion strength, plantar flexion strength, activities of daily living, or ankle stability. Conclusions are that mild objective eversion weakness and no objective plantar flexion weakness can be expected after this procedure; however, subjective assessment reveals no functional compromise.
Gliding function of flexor tendons one hour to eight weeks after a standard injury was studied in rat digits by determining terminal force of flexion, tendon excursion, and work of flexion using a tensile testing machine. A rapid decrease in gliding occurred within hours of injury, indicating that the postoperative hematoma and edema restrict gliding long before collagenous adhesions are synthesized. The improvement in gliding function with time implies that fibrous adhesions can be remodeled. Surgical methods and therapeutic agents, therefore, should be directed toward limiting early tissue injury and seeking ways to enhance the late remodeling of fibrous peritendinous adhesions along functional lines.
Rodent Achilles tendons were subjected to midpoint tenotomy and allowed to recover for various times in situ before the operated tissue was removed, placed into a Millipore diffusion chamber, and inserted intraperitoneally into syngeneic hosts. Diffusion chambers were then removed at weekly intervals, such that the total time after the operation (i.e., time allowed to recover in situ plus time within the diffusion chamber) was up to 8 weeks, and examined histologically. Ectopic cartilage was produced within the diffusion chamber after a total of 4 weeks but only if the first 2 weeks of recovery were in situ. With increasing time, calcified cartilage, osteoid, and bone were also observed. Overall, the evidence suggests that the cartilage forms via a direct conversion from tendon tissue and that the bone may form as a result of differentiative changes of hypertrophic chondrocytes.
The etiology of anterior tibial tendon rupture and the results after secondary operation are described in one patient. A new operative technique using his peroneus tertius tendon as a free graft was performed. Follow-up after only 5 months showed almost normalized function in comparison to the uninjured leg. No additional loss of function owing to the operative method was noted. Ultrasound is of the highest diagnostic value in detecting the injury and in controlling the course of healing.
BACKGROUND: The current cadaver study was performed to evaluate and compare infraspinatus (ISP) vs. subscapularis (SSC) tendon transfer used for the repair of a large supraspinatus (SSP) rotator cuff defect. The main outcome measures were the range of motion and intramuscular length changes during motion. METHODS: Thirteen fresh-frozen cadaver shoulders were used in the study. A supraspinatus defect extending to the apex of the humeral head (Patte size II) was created. Transosseous repair was then attempted with the ISP and with the SSC in all cases; intramuscular length changes were measured by Hall effect transducers during motion of the arm in steps of 30 degrees. RESULTS: Repair was successful in all cases when the ISP was used, while use of the SSC resulted in a successful repair in only 8 of the 13 (61.5%). Passive range of motion did not differ between ISP and SSC. ISP was shortened during flexion and abduction in contrast to the SSC that was lengthened during flexion (p<0.05) and shortened to a lesser degree (p<0.05). Length changes during rotation were not significantly different. CONCLUSIONS: In this cadaver model the ISP proved more favorable than the SSC for covering a Patte size II SSP defect if the assumption is true that lengthening of a muscle is less favorable than shortening because of the vascularization of the tendon.
There is growing evidence that cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, interleukin (IL) 1beta, IL-6, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), and nitric oxide (NO) play an important role in the pathogenesis of bone tunnel enlargement following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Furthermore, the release of these mediators has been considered a possible reason for the higher incidence of bone tunnel enlargement following hamstring tendon (HST) than following patellar tendon (PT) ACL reconstruction observed in several studies. In this investigation synovial fluid samples from 13 patients were collected immediately before (24+/-7 days after ACL rupture) and 7 days after ACL surgery and values of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, NO, and BMP-2 were analyzed. Furthermore, the incidence of bone tunnel enlargement was assessed using radiographs 38+/-7 weeks after surgery. Six patients underwent autologous HST ACL reconstruction, and in seven patients an PT autograft was used. In the overall patient population there were significantly higher synovial fluid concentrations of IL-6 and BMP-2 postoperatively than preoperatively; TNF-alpha showed a trend towards lower postoperative levels while IL-1beta and NO remained unchanged. The concentrations of NO, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 found in the present study were clearly higher than normal values given in the literature. Assessment of bone tunnel enlargement revealed an average increase in tibial tunnel width of 28.4+/-3.1% with comparable values for HST and PT ACL reconstructions. There was no significant correlation between bone tunnel enlargement and postoperative synovial fluid concentrations of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, NO, and BMP-2. However, all patients with bone tunnel enlargement had higher postoperative concentrations of TNF-alpha, IL-6, and NO in the synovial fluid. There were no significant differences in concentrations between HST and PT groups. In conclusion, we observed an association between tibial bone tunnel enlargement and elevated synovial fluid concentrations of IL-6, TNF-alpha, and NO 7 days after ACL surgery indicating the potential involvement of these biological mediators in the pathogenesis of bone tunnel enlargement. However, there was no difference between HST and PT ACL reconstructions regarding synovial fluid contents of IL-6, TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, NO, and BMP-2, suggesting a comparable biological response between these autografts following their use in ACL reconstruction.
The current study was performed to understand the relationship between graft length placed within the bone tunnel and intraosseous graft healing in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Twenty-four adult beagle dogs were divided into two groups of 12 animals each. In each animal, ACL reconstruction using a 4-mm diameter autogenous flexor tendon graft was done in the left knee. In groups I and II, the graft having a length of 15 and 5 mm, respectively, was placed within the tibial tunnel. The proximal end of the graft was placed through the over-the-top route in all animals. In each group, five animals were sacrificed immediately after surgery, and the remaining seven were sacrificed at 6 weeks postoperatively. Biomechanical and histologic evaluations were performed. In pull out testing, the ultimate failure load and the linear stiffness of the graft-tibia complex harvested at 6 weeks were significantly greater than those harvested at the time-zero period. There were no significant differences in those parameters between groups I and II at 6 weeks. In each group, the perpendicular collagen fibers connecting the tendon to the bone tunnel wall were observed only in the narrow area located close to the intra-articular tunnel outlet. In conclusion, excessively long placement of the flexor graft within the bone tunnel does not result in an additional increase of anchoring strength and stiffness of the graft in ACL reconstruction.
Simultaneous quadriceps and patellar tendon rupture is rare. Mechanical factors and coexisting systemic and local factors are taken into consideration in the pathogenesis of these ruptures. In patients with some chronic systemic diseases, simultaneous rupture can occur spontaneously or with minor traumas. We present a case of simultaneous quadriceps and patellar tendon rupture in a 21-year-old man with chronic renal failure in this report. He was treated surgically by osseotendinous repair with suture anchors and supplemental cerclage wire fixation on both sides. He regained his normal knee joint functions 18 months after the operation.
Strength and function of autogenic and xenogenic reconstruction of digital extensor tendons was examined in an ovine model. In this study, tendon-graft junctions were formed by either suture augmented with a woven polyester tube (A), or augmented and shielded from surrounding tissues by chemically-treated bovine pericardium (S). By 12 wk, both A and S sheep had returned to full range of motion. Mechanical strength of both the autograft-host and xenograft-host repair sites was similar, with a pooled strength of 131 +/- 25 N (n = 15). Similarly, the mid-portion xenograft strengths were constant at approximately 366 +/- 97 N (n = 7). In contrast, mid-portion autograft strengths decreased from 380 +/- 110 N (N = 4) to 120 +/- 66 N (n = 4) if shielding was omitted. The loss in autograft strength was attributed to loss of function associated with adhesions. The use of the augmentation device coupled with an adhesion barrier gives higher initial reconstruction strength and improved function during the host repair period up to 12 wk.