DOUBLE SIDED TENDON TURNOVER LENGTHENING TECHNIQUE.

Abstract

Tendon turnovers were described by
Cerovac et al as a novel cost and time
effective method to treat small, non load
bearing tendons defects of the hand.
This paper depicts a modification of the
procedure to allow it to be applied to a
larger weight bearing tendon that was
not amenable to a primary tenorraphy.
Reconstruction of a discontinuous
tendon defect under tension is a difficult
task. Attempts to solve this challenging
issue surgically have met with success
but rely on the skill of the surgeon and
the technology and equipment available.
There are a variety of options ranging
from lengthening to grafting and tendon
transfers. We have come up with the
utilisation of a novel technique for the reconstruction
of a severed Tibialis Anterior
(TA) tendon that was performed on a
case with good post-operative results.
The patient was able to resume normal
activity in 12 weeks.The advantage with
this technique is that one avoids additional
morbidity and complications
associated with grafting, transfers and two
stage reconstruction while simplifying the
care for such patients while still providing
future opportunities for more conventional
intervention.