What do you know about Achilles tendon rupture?

  Achilles tendon rupture is the most common of the tendon ruptures in the foot. It is generally broken at 2.5-4 cm above the heel stop (where the Achilles tendon is the narrowest and has the worst blood supply), and the severed ends are cynodontically staggered except for knife cuts, but the sheath can still be preserved intact. Most Achilles tendon ruptures are caused by direct injury, but they can also occur after overexertion of the Achilles tendon and early degenerative changes in the Achilles tendon after the age of 30, rheumatic diseases, syphilis, consumption and patients with local or systemic hormone application.  At the time of injury, the patient may feel as if the Achilles tendon is being stepped on, struck or feel a rupture sound, followed immediately by pain, difficulty in striding, and inability to land on the toes of the feet. There is local swelling, pressure pain, subcutaneous ecchymosis, collapse of the Achilles tendon rupture and loss of the tendon contour. A subcutaneous space can be felt at the rupture site, which is more obvious when the foot is dorsiflexed. A bulging muscle belly can be felt at the proximal end of the break in the lower leg. In old cases, the heel is in a lengthened state because the severed end is attached by scar tissue. The gastrocnemius muscle strength is weakened and cannot do the normal striding movement and cannot complete the pointing foot movement with the heel off the ground. However, the passive range of motion of the ankle joint is greater than the normal side.  The local pain, tenderness and foot dysfunction in patients with complete Achilles tendon rupture are less severe than in myofiber lacerations, and are often missed at an early stage, with a misdiagnosis rate ranging from 20% to 40% as reported in the literature, until the swelling and ecchymosis have subsided. The gastrocnemius crush test (Thompson, Doherty, Simmonds test) can identify partial and complete Achilles tendon injuries. The patient is placed prone or on both knees on the examination table with the bilateral foot and ankle exposed outside the table, and the operator squeezes the calf gastrocnemius muscle. However, in patients with old complete rupture of the Achilles tendon, mild plantarflexion can be observed on the gastrocnemius muscle squeeze test.  The disadvantages of conservative treatment, i.e., fixation of the ankle joint in a horseshoe position with a cast, are the local expansion of the nodules at the severed end and the tendency to re-rupture, as well as the weakening of the Achilles tendon. Therefore, surgical repair is the most reasonable method at present, but there are different views on the timing of surgery. However, there are different opinions on the timing of surgery. It is generally considered that late repair is more appropriate because the scar has already formed at the end of the tendon, which can avoid the cutting of sutures during repair. However, the waiting time for late repair should not be too long to avoid muscle contracture and tendon adhesions that make surgery more difficult. There are many surgical methods, such as Bunnell’s method, Bosworth’s method, Lindholm’s method, Abraham’s method, etc. During Achilles tendon repair surgery, attention should be paid to: 1. Avoid applying median incisions to prevent postoperative adhesions.  2. Wires can cause edema and inflammatory reactions.  3.With the use of wire and nylon thread, sutures can be palpable and painful after surgery.  4.The knot should be tied on the inner surface when suturing.  5. The paratendinous tissue and skin should be sutured in layers. After surgery, the cast should be fixed in the horseshoe position, and the stitches should be removed and replaced in 10 to 12 days. After 8 weeks, the cast should be removed and high heels should be worn for 3 to 4 weeks, while no weight should be put on to correct the horseshoe position. Half of the height of the heel was removed, and the heel was completely removed after 5 weeks.