Percutaneous repair of the ruptured tendo Achillis

Percutaneous repair of the: ruptured tendo Achillis IT has a low rate of fa ilure and negligible complications with the wound, but the sural nerve may be damaged. We describe a new technique;which minimises the risk of injury to this nerve. The repair is carried out using three midline stab incisions over the poste rior aspect of the tendon. A No. 1 nylon suture on a 90 mm cutting needle a pproximates the tendon with two box stitches. The procedure can be carried out under local anaesthesia. We reviewed 27 patients who had a percutaneous repair at a median interval of 35 months after the injury. They returned to work at four weeks and to s port at 16, One developed a minor wound infection and another complex regio nal pain syndrome type II. There were no injuries to the sural nerve or lat e reruptures, This technique is simple to undertake and has a low rate of c omplications.