Achillies Tendon Tears: Midsubstance Achilles Tendon Repair Animation

Achillies Tendon Tears: Midsubstance Achilles Tendon Repair Animation

This video demonstrates a minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair on a right foot. When starting the repair of a torn Achilles tendon, the surgeon will start with a small incision just above the heel. The tendon is captured with a clamp, and a minimally invasive jig is set in place to help pass sutures through the torn tendon.

Needles with sutures attached are run through the appropriate holes on the jig and through the tendon at multiple locations and angles to form the appropriate configuration to help add strength to the repair. The jig is then removed, and the sutures are taken out of the incision. These sutures are then passed through each other in a specific order. This helps create that strong construct in a minimally invasive fashion. In the past, these steps were done through a large, wide-open incision.

Once the sutures are configured, two small incisions are made over the heel bone, where these sutures will be anchored. Drill guides and drills are used to create pilot holes where the anchors will end up. This technique assures a knotless construct, whereas previously, surgeons would simply tie the two ends of the torn tendon together.

After the sockets are prepared, a suture-passing device is used to pass the suture through the other portion of the Achilles tendon to bring the two torn ends together. The sutures are passed into the anchors and the anchors are placed into the prepared bone holes to secure the repair. This results in a secure, knotless, minimally invasive repair of the Achilles tendon.