Repair of Acute Versus Chronic Achilles Tendon Rupture

Abstract

Achilles tendon ruptures can be classified as acute and chronic varying on the timing of diagnosis and/or presentation to the clinic. Acute ruptures can be treated with either conservative or surgical treatment options. Furthermore, surgical treatment of acute ruptures can be divided into open, percutaneous, or minimally invasive. Chronic ruptures of the Achilles are diagnosed greater than 4 to 6 weeks from injury. Chronic ruptures are best treated with augmentation of the repair, with either a gastrocnemius advancement or turndown, or a tendon transfer.

Keywords: Acute rupture; Chronic rupture; Flexor hallucis longus tendon transfer; Minimally invasive repair; Open repair.