Surgical repair of the interrupted Achilles tendon

During the period 1965-1976 44 patients at our institution underwent open repair of ruptured or lacerated Achilles tendons. Patients were evaluated as to delay to surgery, type of repair, wound complications, incidence of rerupture, symptoms, and postoperative range of motion, mobility, and strength. Average followup was 3 years. Functional results were generally good. Rerupture (2.8%) and wound complications (6.8%) were infrequent. We conclude that the benefits of surgical repair appear to outweigh the potential complications, when compared with the reported incidence of rerupture and loss of strength and endurance following conservative management of these injuries.