Quadriceps autograft to treat Achilles Chronic tears: a simple surgical technique

BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2016 Mar 5:17:116. doi: 10.1186/s12891-016-0967-1.

Abstract

Background: Chronic Achilles tendon tears could hinder patients and represent a challenge to surgeons. Although many different surgical techniques have been proposed for reconstruction of a neglected Achilles tendon rupture, there is no clear evidence to support one technique over the others, but the use of a technique that could allow for an "anatomical" reconstructions seems desirable.

Methods: The present paper describes a new anatomic Achilles tendon reconstruction for chronic tears, using a quadriceps tendon autograft as graft source, with PRP injected into the graft and the neighbor tissue, and fixation in a bone trough with a simple small fragments screw.

Results: Autologous quadriceps tendon graft seems an excellent option, although -surprisingly- has received little attention until now.

Conclusions: Autologous Quadriceps tendon graft (in bone-tendon configuration) is a simple technique that could allow surgeons to reconstruct tissue defects in the Achilles tendon with non-expensive hardware.

MeSH terms

  • Achilles Tendon / injuries
  • Achilles Tendon / surgery*
  • Aged
  • Autografts
  • Bone Screws
  • Chronic Disease
  • Humans
  • Injections
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Plastic Surgery Procedures* / instrumentation
  • Platelet-Rich Plasma
  • Quadriceps Muscle / surgery*
  • Tendon Injuries / diagnosis
  • Tendon Injuries / surgery*
  • Tendons / transplantation*
  • Treatment Outcome