BACKGROUND Panga or machete attacks are a common cause of significant upper-limb trauma in South Africa. Pangas are a multipurpose household tool used predominantly for foraging and agricultural purposes and are highly contaminated. While some centres advocate immediate primary repair if no concern exists regarding the risk of infection, others delay definitive repair until satisfied there is n...

During the last 20 years there have been significant innovations in injury repair and aftercare for patients who sustain zone 2 flexor tendon injuries. Improvements in our understanding of the mechanisms of repair and the variables that impact the function of the repair site have resulted in outcome improvements. The purpose of this article is to review advances in flexor tendon surgery and to ...

INTRODUCTION This study retrospectively analyzes primary extensor tendon repairs in children younger than 15 years. METHODS Exclusion criteria were skin loss, devascularization, fractures, or flexor tendon injuries. Fifty patients who had sustained extensor tendon laceration with 53 digits injured were available for review. Treatment consisted of primary repair of the extensor tendon injury w...

INTRODUCTION Acute concomitant rupture of both anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and patellar tendon is a rare injury. The diagnosis of either of the injuries may be missed on clinical examination in the emergency room. A high index of suspicion is necessary when active extension is absent, and necessary investigations like ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be done to confirm...

BACKGROUND Tendons are dense connective tissues and critical components for the integrity and function of the musculoskeletal system. Tendons connect bone to muscle and transmit forces on which locomotion entirely depends. Due to trauma, overuse and age-related degeneration, many people suffer from acute or chronic tendon injuries. Owing to their hypovascularity and hypocellularity, tendinopath...

Several techniques have been described for the treatment of pectoralis major tendon injuries. Surgical intervention has shown to yield superior clinical results in complete injuries. Without fixation, the patient may have poor functional and cosmetic results. We describe here a new technique for repairing complete ruptures of the pectoralis major tendon back to its insertion onto the humerus. T...

INTRODUCTION Achilles tendon disorders are a common entity in middle-aged active people. With increasing sports participation in the general population, the number of overuse injuries has increased1. Tendon disorders comprise 30 to 50% of all sports-related injuries and there is a lifetime risk of 52% in elite long-distance runners of suffering from an Achilles tendon injury2. Despite this high...

Drs Turkel, Lomasney, and Demos are from the Department of Radiology and Dr Marra is from the Department of Orthopedics, Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, Illinois. Drs Turkel, Lomasney, Demos, and Marra have no fi nancial relationship to disclose. Correspondence should be addressed to: Terrence C. Demos, MD, Dept of Radiology, Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 S 1st Ave, Maywood,...

BACKGROUND A virtual navigation system (VNS) can combine two imaging modalities for synchronous observation and can be beneficial for diagnosis and treatment. Ultrasound elastography (UE) can distinguish between soft and hard tissues. However, the application of UE to musculoskeletal structures is rare. OBJECTIVE To evaluate UE of the supraspinatus tendon using ultrasound-magnetic resonance i...

Tendon and muscle injuries are common in elite and weekend athletes. Treatment of these injuries in both groups is rapidly evolving. Sports medicine patients are demanding better and less invasive solutions for all types of musculoskeletal disorders. In this context, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has emerged as a potential solution. PRP is a fraction of whole blood containing concentrated growth f...