Reconstruction of Chronic Achilles Tendon Rupture with Semitendinosus Tendon Graft

Large defects in chronic Achilles tendon ruptures are difficult to rapair. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and functional outcomes following reconstruction of the chronic large gaps in Achilles tendon ruture using free semitendinosus interposition tendon grafting. In a case series study eleven male patients with mean age of 30±4 years and average defect size of 8.31±1.96 cm in their old Achilles tendon underwent reconstruction during 6 years in a teaching hospital in Theran-Iran. Ipsilateral semitendinosus free tendon graft was used for reconstruction. The cases were evaluated by Ankle-Hindfoot Scale of American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) and the Achilles Tendon Rupture Score (ATRS) to with a mean follow-up of 25.36±3.3 months. The pre-operative AOFAS and ATRS of 70.4±5.3 and 31.7±5.7 preoperatively improved to 91.8±4.8 and 88.7±4.2 values. The ankle dorsiflexion showed a significant decline – postoperative value of 13.5±4.2 degrees compared to preoperative of 17.2±3.9 degrees (p=.04). All the cases except a professional athlete returned to their previous activities. This technique offers good clinical and functional results in patients with large defects and is associated with no donnersite morbidity. We recommend this technique for the reconstruction of the chronic at ruptures in patients with over 6 cm defects.