Outcomes of staged reconstruction of Zone 2 flexor tendon injuries in recent wide-awake surgical settings and an earlier case series

2021 ◽  
pp. 175319342110532
Author(s):  
Ahmed Fathy Sadek ◽  
Ahmed Sobhi Hweidi ◽  
Mohamed Atef Ahmed

We report outcomes of patients who were managed with two-stage tendon grafting for neglected Zone 2 flexor tendon injuries from 2012 until 2019. The patients were divided into two cohorts: recent series (Series 1) included patients treated with local anaesthesia and epinephrine (16 fingers, from 2015), and earlier series (Series 2) included patients treated with either general or local intravenous anaesthesia and tourniquet (12 fingers, before 2015). The patients in Series 1 achieved statistically better mean total active motion of the operated fingers and grip compared with the contralateral hand than the earlier series ( p = 0.03, p = 0.01, respectively). With the Tang grading system, excellent and good results were achieved in 13 and six fingers of the patients in Series 1 and Series 2, respectively. We conclude that wide-awake second stage of staged flexor tendon grafting provides fine-tuned adjustment of length and tension of the graft, but we cannot conclude about comparative outcomes between two series because the sample size is small and the earlier series was operated by the same surgeons with lower expertise level. Level of evidence: IV

Hand Therapy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 102-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phoebe Prowse ◽  
Matt Nixon ◽  
Joannis Constantinides ◽  
Janet Hunter ◽  
Angela Henry ◽  
...  

Introduction No single optimal regimen for the rehabilitation of flexor tendon injuries has yet been determined. We aimed to evaluate if a change in rehabilitation from a modified Kleinert to a controlled active motion (CAM) regimen had an effect on outcomes in a regional plastic surgery unit. We did this by comparing ruptures and range of movement of zone 2 repairs following both Kleinert and CAM regimens. Methods We performed a retrospective case series review, analysing data collected prospectively between 2004 and 2007. During 2004 and 2005, patients were rehabilitated with a modified Kleinert regimen, and during 2006 and 2007 a CAM regimen was used. We looked at total active motion (TAM) and ruptures at 12-week follow-up for all zone 2 repairs, and compared the two regimens. Results There were 38 patients with 42 injured digits in the Kleinert group, and 34 patients with 39 injured digits in the CAM group. There was no statistically significant difference in TAM achieved between the Kleinert and CAM regimens overall (70% versus 72% of normal in each group respectively, P = 0.70 t-test). Patients over 30 years old achieved significantly worse outcomes in the Kleinert group than in the CAM group ( P = 0.03). One digit ruptured following a Kleinert regimen (2.6%) compared with four digits in the CAM group (11.7%). Conclusion In this study, we found no overall difference in outcome following a Kleinert or CAM rehabilitation regimen. Rupture rates were higher in the CAM group by four-fold. In our patients those over 30 years had poorer outcomes when rehabilitated with a Kleinert regimen.


2021 ◽  
pp. 175319342110244
Author(s):  
Giovanni Munz ◽  
Andrea Poggetti ◽  
Luca Cenci ◽  
Anna Rosa Rizzo ◽  
Marco Biondi ◽  
...  

We report the outcomes of delayed primary repair of flexor tendons in Zone 2 in 31 fingers and thumb (28 patients) averaging 15 days (range 4–37) after injury in 2020. The delay was longer than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tendons were repaired with a 6-strand core suture (M-Tang method) or a double Tsuge suture and a peripheral suture. This was followed by an early, partial-range, active flexion exercise programme. Adhesions in four digits required tenolysis. These patients were not with longest delay. Outcomes of two improved after tenolysis. The other two patients declined further surgery. One finger flexor tendon ruptured in early active motion. This was re-repaired, and final outcome was good. Overall excellent and good results using the Tang criteria were in 27 out of 31 fingers and thumbs (87%). The time elapsed between the injury and surgery is not an important risk factor for a good outcome, rather it depends on proper surgical methods, the surgeon's experience and early mobilization, properly applied. Adhesions may occur, but they can be managed with tenolysis. Level of evidence: IV


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 487-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aude Bommier ◽  
Duncan McGuire ◽  
Patrick Boyer ◽  
Asan Rafee ◽  
Sami Razali ◽  
...  

We report outcomes of reconstruction of zone 1 or 2 flexor tendon injuries using a heterodigital hemi-tendon transfer of the flexor digitorum profundus in 23 fingers of 23 patients. At mean follow-up of 57 months, the mean total active motion of the three finger joints including the metacarpophalangeal joint was 128 degrees preoperatively and 229 degrees at final follow up. According to Strickland criteria, the function was excellent for 14 fingers, good for seven fingers and poor for two fingers. The subgroup analysis showed that the results were better in cases of primary surgery, children, and for the index and little fingers. Complications included stiffness of three fingers, and rupture in one finger that was converted to a two-stage tendon reconstruction. We conclude that this technique restores good function in most patients with zone 1 and 2 flexor tendon injuries, in which primary tendon repair has not been performed or was unsuccessful, and where pulley reconstruction is not required. Level of evidence: IV


QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Adel Zaghloul Fayed ◽  
Naglaa Mohamed Abdel Aziz ◽  
Ebrahim Mohamed Amin Abdel Gawad ◽  
Ibrahim Hussien Kamel ◽  
Ahmed Elshahat

Abstract Background Recent advances in hand surgery has been the movement away from tourniquet surgery, which often requires sedation or GA and the patient will be awake and cooperative. Wide awake approach depends on the safety of adrenaline which is now well established. This review will evaluate the role of the wide awake approach in reducing rupture and tenolysis rate after flexor tendon repair zone 2. Objective To evaluate the functional outcome of flexor tendon repair zone II (most challengeable) under wide awake anesthesia. Patients and Methods After approval of local ethical committee of faculty of medicine Ain Shams University, this Prospective study has been conducted targeting patients with acute zone II flexor tendon injuries admitted at El Sahel Teaching Hospital within the period from September 2019 till January 2020, and their follow up for minimum three months at outpatient clinic. A Written informed consent explaining the whole procedure under study in this research has been obtained from all patients and absolute confidentiality as regard the patients’ names and addresses was given special care and attention. Final outcome evaluated by Original Strickland evaluation system. Results Using the wide awake technique provides an optimal opportunity to test repair strength through Intra-operative Total Active Movement (ITAM) making the surgeon much more comfortable to initiate early active motion. Besides, rising trend toward using early active rehabilitation protocol in case of strong repair using four or more strands repairs is recently supported in literature. This study adopted early active rehabilitation protocol with slight differences among them Conclusion This preliminary study assessing the outcomes of primary tendon repair in flexor tendon injuries in zone II using the wide-awake technique demonstrates encouraging results, being satisfactory for both surgeons and patients that makes this new approach a competitive to the other approaches of flexor tendon repair implemented under conventional methods of anesthesia.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camillo Fulchignoni ◽  
Mario Alessandri Bonetti ◽  
Giuseppe Rovere ◽  
Antonio Ziranu ◽  
Giulio Maccauro ◽  
...  

Flexor tendon injuries are extremely challenging conditions to manage for hand surgeons. Over the last few years enormous progress has been made for the treatment of these lesions with new surgical approaches being performed. One of these is the wideawake local anesthesia no tourniquet (WALANT) technique, also known as Wide Awake Technique that allows tendon repair under local anesthesia, enabling the tendon to move actively during surgery. Dynamic movement of the tendon during surgery is crucial for the orthopedic surgeon in order to understand if the tendon has been correctly repaired before leaving the operatory table. An electronic literature research was carried out on Pubmed, Google Scholars and Cochrane Library using ((Flexor tendon injury) OR (flexor tendon) OR (injury muscle tendon) OR (flexor pollicis longus tendon) AND ((wide awake repair) OR (wide awake) OR (wide awake hand surgery))as search terms. Authors believe that WALANT is an enormous add-on in the management of patients with flexor tendon injuries mainly because it allows direct visualization of the repair during flexion and extension movement of the fingers and also because it avoids general anesthesia or brachial plexus being more cost effective. The aim of these review was therefore to sum up the evidences available so far on the wade awake technique as an emerging treatment for patients with flexor tendon injuries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (01) ◽  
pp. 83-88
Author(s):  
Min Kai Chang ◽  
Sanchalika Acharyya ◽  
Zeus Yiwei Lim ◽  
Shian Chao Tay

Background: The single looped suture modified Lim/Tsai technique is widely used for flexor tendon repairs. It has been shown to possess better biomechanical properties and require less repair time per tendon as compared to the double looped suture original Lim/Tsai technique. However, there is no clinical data on the modified technique. Methods: The retrospective study included zone 2 flexor tendon repairs made using the modified Lim/Tsai technique from January 2008 to December 2014. Clinical outcome was assessed using the revised Strickland and Glogovac criteria, which categorises repairs based on the total active motion of the repaired digit. Results: Sixty-two patients with 74 digits were included. The overall mean total active motion was 122°. The overall satisfactory outcome of the modified Lim/Tsai technique was 81.1%. The rupture rate of the modified Lim/Tsai technique was 2.7%. Using multivariate linear regression model, we found that outcomes were negatively influenced by subzone 2C and crush/saw injuries, but not by concomitant neurovascular injuries or post-operative follow-up duration. Conclusions: Based on this retrospective study of patients with zone 2 flexor tendon injuries, the clinical outcomes of modified and original Lim/Tsai techniques are comparable. As such, there is no clinical evidence favouring one over the other.


Hand ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 155894472092665
Author(s):  
Minh N. Q. Huynh ◽  
Ammara Ghumman ◽  
Amisha Agarwal ◽  
Claudia Malic

Background: Pediatric outcomes after flexor tendon repairs are variable, and evidence in the literature remains scarce. Methods: Repair of pediatric flexor tendon injuries was reviewed over a 10-year period (2005-2015). Data collection consisted of patient demographics, injury characteristics, anesthetic choice, repair technique, rehabilitation protocol, American Society for Surgery of the Hand Total Active Motion (TAM) scores, and complications. Results: There were 109 patients included in our study, with a total of 162 digits injured and 235 flexor tendon injuries. The mean age was 12 ± 4.6 years. The small finger (48 of 162; 30%) and the flexor digitorum profundus tendon (126 of 235) were the most commonly injured. The mechanism of injury was mainly from a knife (46 of 109; 42.2%) in zone II (82 of 159; 52%). Injuries were mostly repaired under general anesthetic (61 of 104; 56%). The Kessler technique was the predominant repair mechanism (111 of 225 repairs; 49%). Most patients (103 of 109; 95%) had excellent or good TAM scores with 5 postoperative ruptures reported. The most common complication was stiffness (17 of 121 complications; 14%), with most patients having no complications ( 74 of 109 patients; 68%). Patients were commonly immobilized (mean 8.4 ± 10.3 weeks) with a splint (93 of 109; 85%). There were 85 patients who followed a postoperative rehabilitation protocol for 12 ± 18 weeks. Patient demographics, time of repair, injury characteristics, anesthetic choice, and rehabilitation protocol were not significantly correlated with TAM scores or complication rates. Conclusions: Pediatric tendon injuries have good outcomes with no predictive factors identified. Surgical repairs performed under local anesthetic have similar outcomes without increased rates of complications, but remain underused in the pediatric population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 469-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Ohi ◽  
S. Uchiyama ◽  
T. Kanda ◽  
M. Mukoda ◽  
M. Hayashi ◽  
...  

Ten patients had intrasynovial tendon grafting harvested from the toes for secondary flexor tendon reconstruction in nine fingers and one thumb in our institutes from 2009 to 2014. These patients were followed for a mean of 15 (range: 8–36) months. The ranges of total active motion of the proximal and distal interphalangeal joints of these nine fingers were 143° (range: 108–175°) and of the metacarpophalangeal and interphalangeal joints of one thumb were 110°. In conclusion, this technique is feasible and gives a good result when successful but with a high complication rate. Level of Evidence IV


2017 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 896-902 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Moriya ◽  
T. Yoshizu ◽  
N. Tsubokawa ◽  
H. Narisawa ◽  
S. Matsuzawa ◽  
...  

We report on the outcomes of flexor tendon repair in zone 2 subzones with early active mobilization in 102 fingers in 88 consecutive patients. There were 28, 53, 15, and six fingers with repairs in zones 2A to 2D, respectively. Rupture of the repair occurred in four fingers, all in zone 2B. Excluding those with repair ruptures, the mean total active motion was 230° (range 143°–286°). Evaluated with Tang’s criteria, the outcomes were ranked excellent in 39 fingers, good in 46, fair in ten, poor in three, and failure in four. The outcomes in zone 2C were significantly inferior to those in zones 2B and 2D ( p = 0.02). Our results suggest that the tendon laceration in the area covered by the A2 pulley (zone 2C) is the most difficult area to obtain satisfactory active digital motion and tendon repair in zone 2B is the area where the risk of rupture is highest. Level of evidence: IV


Hand Surgery ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 305-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K. Tolerton ◽  
Richard D. Lawson ◽  
Michael A. Tonkin

Introduction: This study aims to gain a better understanding of current practice for the surgical management and rehabilitation of flexor tendon injuries in Australia, with the intent of establishing common guidelines for training of young surgeons. Methods: A survey was distributed to the membership of the Australian Hand Surgery Society to determine whether a consensus could be obtained for: suture material and gauge; core and epitenon suture techniques; sheath and pulley management; and post-operative protocols for primary flexor tendon repair. Results: The predominant materials used for core suture are TicronTM Suture (Tyco Healthcare Group LP, Norwalk, Connecticut, USA) (34%) and EthibondTM Polyester Suture (Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey, USA) (24%). The two core suture configurations commonly used are the Adelaide (45%) and Kessler (32%) repair. The predominant materials used for epitendinous sutures are 6-0 ProleneTM Polypropylene Suture (Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey, USA) (56%), 5-0 ProleneTM (21%) and 6-0 EthilonTM Nylon Suture (Ethicon, Somerville, New Jersey, USA) (13%); and the majority (63%) use a running epitendinous technique. The management of critical pulleys is variable, with 89% prepared to perform some release of A2 and A4 pulleys. Rehabilitation protocols vary widely, with 24% of respondents using the same method for all patients, while 76% tailor their approach to each patient. Some component of active motion was used by most. Discussion: There exists some consensus on the management of flexor tendon injuries in Australia. However, the management of critical pulleys and methods of post-operative rehabilitation remain varied. For the training of young surgeons, a majority advise a 3-0 gauge braided polyester core suture of four strands, combined with a 6-0 ProleneTM simple running epitendinous suture for increased tendon repair strength and smooth glide. Trainees should attempt to retain the integrity of the A2 and A4 pulleys. Post-operative rehabilitation should include a component of active flexion.


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