LENGTHENING THE LOCKING LOOP REPAIR FOR ZONE 2 FLEXOR TENDON LACERATION AND PARTIAL LATERAL RELEASE OF THE TENDON SHEATH

The authors present the clinical outcomes of nine zone 2 flexor tendon repairs using a locking loop technique (i.e. the Modified Pennington technique). The locking loops were located approximately 10 mm away from the lacerated tendon ends to "lengthen" the locking loop repair, as experimentally and clinically recommended. The partial lateral release of the tendon sheath, including the A2 and/or A4 pulley, was performed not only to locate the sutures but also to allow a full range of motion of the repair without catching on the tendon sheath, as clinically recommended. All the patients were followed up for six months or more except for one. All digits were evaluated as excellent or good at the final follow-up by the original Strickland criteria. No rupture occurred and no bowstring of the flexor tendon was observed. The clinical outcomes of the current study indicate that "lengthening" the locking loop repair is effective for zone 2 flexor tendon repair and that the partial lateral release of the tendon sheath, including the A2 and/or A4 pulley, does not result in the bowstring of the flexor tendon.