Traumatic rupture of the tibialis anterior tendon: A case report

Abstract

Objective: The autors report a case of a traumatic rupture of the tibialis anterior tendon (TTA) that was early diagnosed and treated in the emergency service. This is a rare clinical entity with few cases reported in the literature. Case report: A 66-year old female presented at the emergency service complaining about pain at the anterior aspect of her ankle and inability to walk normally, after a fall. Physical examination revealed clinical signs for TTA rupture, which was later confirmed by ultrasound. Surgical treatment was performed immediately – the tendon was anchored into the medial cuneiform with a soft tissue-to-bone anchor. The follow-up revealed good functional result. Conclusion: Physical examination and a high index of suspicion are important when facing a patient who had sustained an ankle trauma. The TTA rupture is a diagnosis to consider because unrecognized ruptures led to important functional deficits and poor functional results.

Closed Fracture of the Medial Malleolus Accompanied by A Rupture of the Tibialis Anterior Tendon: An Unusual Case Report

“…Acute rupture of the tibialis anterior tendon is quite rare and traumatic (8)(9)(10)(11), and spontaneous ruptures due to gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes mellitus, and psoriasis have been reported (12)(13)(14)(15).…”

“…Direct roentgenograms may demonstrate avulsion fractures at the insertion site. The diagnosis can be confirmed by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (9,16). Early diagnosis of the tendon rupture is very important because early repair of the tendon results in a better outcome, whereas delayed surgery often requires grafting and has a lower success rate (17).…”

Traumatic avulsion of tibialis anterior following an industrial accident: A case report

“…Tibialis anterior rupture is an uncommon injury [1] , with few cases previously documented in the literature [1–7] . It can occur either spontaneously or secondary to trauma [2–8] .…”

“…Tibialis anterior rupture is an uncommon injury [1] , with few cases previously documented in the literature [1–7] . It can occur either spontaneously or secondary to trauma [2–8] . The diagnosis should be suspected based on history of injury or risk factors [2,4,6,9] , and can be made on clinical examination [1–3] .…”

“…The diagnosis should be suspected based on history of injury or risk factors [2,4,6,9] , and can be made on clinical examination [1–3] . Ultrasound or MRI may be used to aid the diagnosis and ongoing management plan [7,11,12] . Surgical repair of the tendon following traumatic rupture has been shown to produce better outcomes than conservative management [1,10,13,14] .…”