scholarly journals Wide awake surgery for flexor tendon primary repair: A literature review

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.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant S. Nolan ◽  
Ailbhe L. Kiely ◽  
Tomas Madura ◽  
Alexia Karantana

Abstract Background Flexor tendon injuries most commonly occur following a penetrating injury to the hand or wrist. These are challenging injuries and the standard treatment is surgical repair under general or regional anaesthesia. ‘Wide-awake’ surgery is an emerging technique in hand surgery where a conscious patient is operated on under local anaesthetic. The vasoconstrictive effect of adrenaline (epinephrine) creates a ‘bloodless’ operating field and a tourniquet is not required. The potential advantages include intra-operative testing of the repair; removal of the risks of general anaesthesia; reduced costs; no aerosol generation from intubation therefore reduced risk of COVID-19 spread to healthcare professionals. The aim of this study will be to systematically evaluate the evidence to determine if wide-awake surgery is superior to general/regional anaesthetic in adults who undergo flexor tendon repair. Methods We designed and registered a study protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative and non-comparative studies. The primary outcome will be functional active range of motion. Secondary outcomes will be complications, resource use (operative time) and patient-reported outcome measures. A comprehensive literature search will be conducted (from 1946 to present) in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. Grey literature will be identified through Open Grey, dissertation databases and clinical trials registers. All studies on wide-awake surgery for flexor tendon repair will be included. The comparator will be general or regional anaesthesia. No limitations will be imposed on peer review status or language of publication. Two investigators will independently screen all citations, full-text articles and abstract data. Potential conflicts will be resolved through discussion or referral to a third author when necessary. The study methodological quality (or bias) will be appraised using an appropriate tool. If feasible, we will conduct a random effects meta-analysis. Discussion This systematic review will summarise the best available evidence and definitively establish if function, complications, cost, or patient-reported outcomes are improved when flexor tendons are repaired using wide-awake technique. It will determine if this novel approach is superior to general or regional anaesthesia. This knowledge will help guide hand surgeons by continuing to improve outcomes from flexor tendon injuries. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42020182196


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.


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


1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 392-395
Author(s):  
K. W. CULLEN ◽  
PAMELA TOLHURST ◽  
D. LANG ◽  
R. E. PAGE

Over a two-year-period, 34 adult patients who had suffered zone two flexor tendon injuries to 38 fingers (70 tendons) were managed post-operatively by a regime of early active mobilisation. The results of this technique, assessed by the Strickland criteria after a mean follow-up period of 10.2 months, compared favourably with other more cumbersome methods.


Author(s):  
Robert Savage

♦ Restoring continuity to the supple yet high tensile flexor tendon system presents a challenge unique in surgery. Although there is continuing debate about many details of technique, the central tenet of modern flexor tendon surgery is to repair and move the flexor tendons within a few days of injury♦ Knowledge and experience count for everything at all points of patient care beginning with accurate and timely diagnosis. Emergency services should be arranged to relocate these injuries to appropriately trained surgeons and team-work with specialist hand therapists is an essential part of today’s treatment♦ While all flexor tendon surgery is complicated, it is simplest in the newly injured and unscarred digit, and the results of the correctly rehabilitated primary repair appear to be the best attainable♦ However, occasions will arise when secondary surgery will be necessary and the appropriate skills must be learned.


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


2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Griffin ◽  
S Hindocha ◽  
D Jordan ◽  
M Saleh ◽  
W Khan

Flexor tendon injuries still remain a challenging condition to manage to ensure optimal outcome for the patient. Since the first flexor tendon repair was described by Kirchmayr in 1917, several approaches to flexor tendon injury have enabled successful repairs rates of 70-90%. Primary surgical repair results in better functional outcome compared to secondary repair or tendon graft surgery. Flexor tendon injury repair has been extensively researched and the literature demonstrates successful repair requires minimal gapping at the repair site or interference with tendon vascularity, secure suture knots, smooth junction of tendon end and having sufficient strength for healing. However, the exact surgical approach to achieve success being currently used among surgeons is still controversial. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the results of studies demonstrating the current knowledge regarding the optimal approach for flexor tendon repair. Post-operative rehabilitation for flexor tendon surgery is another area, which has caused extensive debate in hand surgery. The trend to more active mobilisation protocols seems to be favoured but further study in this area is needed to find the protocol, which achieves function and gliding but avoids rupture of the tendons. Lastly despite success following surgery complications commonly still occur post surgery, including adhesion formation, tendon rupture and stiffness of the joints. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the appropriate management of these difficulties post surgery. New techniques in management of flexor tendon will also be discussed including external laser devices, addition of growth factors and cytokines.


1993 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
L-E. KARLANDER ◽  
M. BERGGREN ◽  
M. LARSSON ◽  
G. SÖDERBERG ◽  
G. NYLANDER

The results following primary and delayed primary repair in zone 2 flexor tendon injuries were evaluated in 85 fingers of 79 patients using immediate controlled mobilization post-operatively. In 31 patients a conventional Kleinert technique was used. In the remaining 48 patients a modified technique was used with rubber band traction to all fingers instead of only to the injured one. Also a shorter dorsal splint was used in order to secure extension of the PIP and DIP joints. The results were improved and the time of treatment was reduced.


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