SONOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF SURGICALLY REPA IRED ACHILLES TENDONS

Purpose: To evaluate surgically repaired ruptures of the Achilles tend on by means of ultrasonography, employing the classification scheme of Thermann et al. Method: 54 patients were examined by ultrasonography after an average interval of 4.4 years. A 7.5 MHz linear transducer wa s used with a gel approach piece to evaluate the longitudinal and tran sverse images of the tendon. Results: More than 90% of patients AHD Gr ade 2 or 3 tendons; in only 3 patients could the repaired tendon be de signated Grade 1 or comparable to the healthy control. Conclusion: The re was no correlation between the relatively unsatisfactory results se en on ultrasonography and the clinical results. We cannot recommend ul trasonography as the only method for assessing postoperative results f ollowing Achilles tendon repairs.