title: Ultrasound-guided minimally invasive surgery for achilles tendon rupture: preliminary results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many surgeons prefer surgical repair for Achilles tendon ruptures in an attempt to reduce the risk of rerupture. To minimize wound complications, the use of minimally invasive surgery has become more popular recently. In line with this, the use of ultrasound to guide Achilles tendon repair is reported in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  From March 2005 to January 2008, 23 patients with Achilles tendon rupture were repaired by the same surgeon. The ages of the patients ranged from 19 to 67 years old, with an average of 43 years old. The repair of the Achilles tendon was achieved through a stab wound under the guidance of ultrasonography. A control group consisted of 25 patients who received traditional open Achilles tendon repair.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average operation time was 52 minutes, and the average wound size was 1.1 cm. The short leg cast was removed 4 weeks after the surgery, and serial casting was used for another 3 to 4 weeks. The postoperative AOFAS ankle-hindfoot scores were 98.7 in the experimental group, 96.5 in the control group with no significant difference. The rates of local infection, stiffness of the ankle, pain of the scar and sural nerve injury were better in the experimental group than in the control group with significant difference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Ultrasound-guided surgery was a good choice due to its availability and real-time soft tissue visualization. It can further minimize the size of the surgical wound. Our method has the potential to achieve reliable results.
authors: xavier-wang@yahoo.com.tw
authors: Chen-Chie
authors: CC
authors: Wang
authors: Pei-Yu
authors: PY
authors: Chen
authors: Ting-Ming
authors: TM
authors: Wang
authors: Chung-Li
authors: CL
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002370:Casts, Surgical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012421:Rupture / Q000601:surgery; D013536:Suture Techniques; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional; D055815:Young Adult