Dr. Steven Rueda is one of the most sought after doctors for treatment of tendon injury in Palm Beach. These injuries most commonly result after sharp cuts and disrupt the continuity of the tendons. Tendons originate from muscles and insert in bone leading to movement of the joints. Injury to the tendon leads to absence or weakness of voluntary movement at finger and hand joints.
WHAT CAUSES TENDON INJURY AND TENDON RUPTURE?
Tendons are divided into two main types: flexor tendons and extensor tendons. Flexor tendons are those that are present on the palm side of the hand, wrist, and forearm. Extensor tendons refers to those that are present on the back of the hand, wrist and forearm. The main goal of tendon injury treatment is to repair the tendon and reestablish its function.
Tendon rehabilitation after trauma is challenging, in particular for injuries to the flexor tendons at the level of the fingers. These tendons pass through tight tunnels called pulleys that control their direction of glide. After injury and repair, scarring can make it difficult for tendons to glide in the tight tunnel.
TENDON INJURY AND TENDON RUPTURE PROCEDURE
Tendon ruptures are treated with surgery in the great majority of cases.
Incisions for tendon ruptures are made in the back or the front of the hand or wrist. The length of the incisions is highly variable as it depends in the area the tendons were cut, if there has been tendon retraction, or if tendon grafts are needed. Dr. Rueda discusses the details of the incisions with each patient prior to every surgery. It is common practice to enlarge the laceration that caused the tendon damage to find the cut edges of the tendons and repair them back to their original site.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
No! It is important to see the Hand Surgeon within the first week of the injury. If more than 2 weeks pass by there is a high chance of the tendon ends shortening making repair impossible. In these cases the patient must undergo a very complex process of tendon reconstruction. This implies that tendon has to be borrowed from somewhere else in the body to repair the originally cut tendon; this procedure usually requires 2 surgeries and is very taxing on the patient.
The goal of the surgery is to return function back to normal and this can be achieved in some patients. However, it is common to have some residual stiffness after the procedure and after undergoing full therapy and recovery. In these cases, other procedures to release the scar from the joints and the tendons may be needed to enhance function.