Advantages of semi‐closed over open method of repair of ruptured Achilles tendon

Summary A retrospective survey of 49 patients with 50 spontaneous ruptures of the Achilles tendon was made from 1 to 11 years after operation. Sixteen had repair by a semiclosed technique and were in hospital an average of 1.3 days. All tendons healed well; one patient had a superficial wound infection which settled without antibiotics. All calves developed good power; one had an asymptomatic 10° of increased dorsiflexion. There were no re-operations, re-ruptures or significant long-term complications. Thirty-five had open repair and were in hospital an average of 3.5 days with significantly more complications ( P