Flexor tendon repair using the two-strand side-locking loop technique to tolerate aggressive active mobilization immediately after surgery

✍ Scribed by Suguru Kuwata; Ryuji Mori; Tadahiko Yotsumoto; Yuji Uchio

• Book ID: 116367287
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 344 KB
• Volume: 22
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0268-0033
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2007.08.016

✦ Synopsis

Background. Early mobilization after tendon repair decreases adhesion formation and improves repair-site strength. We investigated whether the two-strand side-locking loop technique would tolerate aggressive active mobilization immediately after surgery.

Methods. Twelve flexor digitorum profundus tendons of the porcine forelimbs were sutured by the two-strand side-locking loop technique with a cross-stitch epitendinous repair (Group A), and by the 8-strand repair method with a simple running suture (Group B). Gaps and residual tensile strength after cyclic loadings of 3-50 N (for 10,000 rounds) were measured.

Findings. Gaps after cyclic loading in Group A were 0.5 ± 0.3 and 1.2 ± 0.8 mm while those in Group B were 3.5 ± 0.8 and 5.2 ± 1.2 mm at 3 and 50 N, respectively. In addition, the respective residual tensile strength of Groups A and B were 207.1 ± 15.2 and 84.2 ± 18.3 N.

Interpretation. A combination of the two-strand side-locking loop technique with cross-stitch epitendinous repair served as the optimum suture method in establishing safe and early active mobilization without the aid of a specialized rehabilitation staff.