title: Muscle transplant in the rabbit's Achilles tendon.
abstract: Achilles tendinopathy (AT) is a degenerative disorder resulting from functional overload, especially during running and jumping, with some inflammatory features at the insertions, bursae, and paratenon. The Achilles tendon is poorly vascularized, especially in the middle third, and the consequent slow metabolic rate allows it to work at very low oxygen tensions but prevents on the other hand a rapid healing.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To create an animal model to study a novel surgical technique employed in AT: transplanting some fibers of the soleus muscle into the tendon in order to improve its vascularization and healing and to study the histological appearance of the soleus graft incorporated in the tendon.
  
  
  METHODS
  We operated on 10 white New Zealand rabbits (eight rabbits underwent the procedure, two rabbits the sham operation with incision of the tendon without graft). Two animals were euthanized at 1 wk, 1, 2, and 3 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Histology showed that after 3 months the muscle fibers were still viable within the tendons, interspersed within connective tissue fibers. Tendon and muscle tissues were intimately fused.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The persistence of the soleus muscle pedicle graft within the Achilles tendon tissue is an index of sound blood supply. This surgical model is suitable for application in further studies on tendon healing.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Morfologiche, Eidologiche e Cliniche, Sezione di Ortopedia e Traumatologia, Centro di Studi e Ricerche di Medicina e Traumatologia dello Sport, Università degli Studi di Pavia, I.R.C.C.S.-Policlinico San Matteo, PAVIA 27100, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benazzo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stennardo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mosconi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zanon
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maffulli
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006085:Graft Survival; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000637:transplantation; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000637:transplantation*; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D011817:Rabbits; D052256:Tendinopathy / Q000601:surgery* / Q000662:veterinary