The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2008;90:1348-1360.
doi:10.2106/JBJS.G.01241
© 2008 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow CME: Take the exam for this article:
 CME 2: April, May, June 2008 (publication date July 3, 2008; expiration dat...
Right arrow [FREE Spanish Translation]
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Maffulli, N.
Right arrow Articles by Ajis, A.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Maffulli, N.
Right arrow Articles by Ajis, A.
Related Collections
Right arrow Foot/Ankle
Right arrow Sports
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Current Concepts Review

Management of Chronic Ruptures of the Achilles Tendon

Nicola Maffulli, MD, MS, PhD, FRCS(Orth)1 and Adam Ajis, MRCSEd2

1 Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Keele University School of Medicine, Thornburrow Drive, Hartshill, Stoke on Trent ST4 7QB Staffs, England. E-mail address: n.maffulli{at}keele.ac.uk
2 Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Macclesfield District General Hospital, Victoria Road, Macclesfield SK10 3BL, England

Disclosure: The authors did not receive any outside funding or grants in support of their research for or preparation of this work. Neither they nor a member of their immediate families received payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. No commercial entity paid or directed, or agreed to pay or direct, any benefits to any research fund, foundation, division, center, clinical practice, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which the authors, or a member of their immediate families, are affiliated or associated.

Chronic ruptures of Achilles tendons are those that present four to six weeks after the original injury. They have become more common as acute Achilles tendon injuries have become more frequent, and they are associated with considerable functional morbidity.

Most surgeons agree that chronic ruptures should be managed operatively.

Diagnosis is based predominantly on history and clinical examination. Real-time, high-resolution ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are helpful in preoperative planning or as a diagnostic aid.

Local tissue, local tendons, and allografts can be used to reconstruct the tendon, and end-to-end repair is possible if the gap is <2.5 cm.

Compared with acute injuries, chronic injuries are associated with a higher rate of postoperative infection and more prolonged recovery.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?