TRANSPOSITION OF EXTENSOR INDICIS PROPRIU S FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF THEEXTENSOR POLLICIS LONGUS TENDON - RESULTS WITH PATIENTS TREATED OVER A 13-YEAR PERIOD

During a period of 13 years we performed 56 extensor indicis proprius (EIP) transpositions for reconstruction of the ruptured or severed ext ensor pollicis longus tendon. The open injuries (n = 9) involved faile d primary repair or untreated tendon injuries. The subcutaneous ruptur es occurred after distal radius fractures (n = 17) or other closed inj uries of the wrist (n = 10), without trauma in 14 patients and in 6 pa tients by rheumatoid synovialitis or collagenosis. 35 patients returne d for follow-up examination 8 months to 10.5 years after operation. Ac cording to the evaluation scheme suggested by Geldmacher et al. we rep ort 13 excellent, 19 good and 3 satisfactory results. Although several authors prefer EPL reconstruction with an intercalated tendon graft, we recommend the EIP transposition as a simple procedure with predicta ble satisfactory results.