Achilles Tendon Rip-Stop SpeedBridge Repair

Abstract

Achilles tendon injuries have been on the rise secondary to our increased participation in sports, increase in societal obesity rates, and the growing elderly population. There has been disagreement in recent years about whether to treat injuries such as Achilles tendon ruptures operatively or nonoperatively with aggressive functional rehabilitation. For those opting to surgically manage Achilles tendon ruptures, insertional Achilles tendonitis, or augment the described SpeedBridge Achilles tendon repair, we propose a modified rip-stop technique. The goal of this technique is to provide a biomechanical advantage to our current operative interventions for these injuries, a greater load-to-failure and a speedier, more reliable return to sport in our athletic populations.

Reinforcement of the Achilles Tendon Double-Row Repair: Technique Tip

“…4 Augmenting this technique with additional safeguards is desirable. Hoffman et al 6 have described such a failsafe in the form of incorporation of a simple rip-stop suture providing another layer of support to the repair. The use of the preloaded suture from the medial-distal anchor passed in a running manner distally to proximally within the Achilles tendon intrasubstance has also been described by Akoh and DeOrio 1 as a means of reapproximating the split ends of the tendon.…”