LONG-TERM RESULTS FOLLOWING SURGICAL-TREA TMENT OF ACHILLES-TENDON RUPTURE

The rupture of the Achilles tendon is a frequent sports injury. Betwee n 1978 and 1988 we treated 358 men and 54 women, with an average age o f 43 years, for this. In most cases the site of rupture was 3-5 cm pro ximal to the distal insertion of the tendon. The long-term subjective results of operative treatment of Achilles tendon ruptures (122 patien ts) were ''good'' or ''very good'' on follow-up examination in 85% of cases, and 97% of the patients treated surgically would choose the sam e therapy in the event of a new rupture. The isokinetic results demons trated a (9.1%) loss of static and a 16.7% loss of dynamic strength in plantar flexion of the upper ankle joint compared with the healthy si de. Ultrasound examination revealed thickening of the tendon itself an d of the dorsal paratendon, with alterations in the tendon structure. In spite of the good results, the high rate of complications, 15.1%, s hows that new and extensive studies on functional conservative therapy of Achilles tendon rupture are necessary to find whether conservative or operative therapy is better.