All You Want to Know about Tendon Surgery
Tendon surgery is recommended in some cases where a patient has severe tendon injury. Tendons are the tissue connecting muscle to bone. The area around the heels and the elbow and other similar joints are places where tendons are vulnerable to injuries. Tendon injuries are by and large the result of wear and tear from repetitive motion. While in some cases tendon injuries appear to be the result of overnight rupture, it is found that in many instances it is just the last straw because there are various micro-tears from previous usage patterns.
Tendon surgery is the recommended course of action where the tendon is severed or lacerated and the patient cannot resume normal function without the tendon being repaired.
Types of tendon surgery
There are some choices in the type of tendon surgery that will work for a patient. Where there is minimal tear the two sides of the tendon can be sewn together. Where there is significant damage, it is necessary to do a tendon graft. In these cases, tendon from some other part of the body is taken out and re-used in the injured area.
The actual procedure
Tendon surgery may be performed under local anesthesia, regional anesthesia or general anesthesia. This may be determined based on where the injury is located. Local anesthesia means that the patient will be awake during the surgery and be aware of the procedure but will not feel any pain. The anesthesiologist will work with the patient to choose the best kind of anesthesia for the situation. Mostly, tendon surgery is seen as an outpatient procedure and so a patient will not have to spend a night in the hospital.
As mentioned earlier, the surgery will involve stitching together two ends of a broken tendon or it will be a graft. The piece used for grafting will be removed in such a way that there will be no noticeable deficit in terms of function in the region where it is removed.
Mild pain is to be expected because of the surgery and a doctor will prescribe the use of painkillers to deal with the problem.
Post-operative care and healing
While the surgery itself is simple and quick, it does take several weeks to heal. For about six to twelve weeks following the surgery, the patient will have to wear a splint or a cast to limit the movement of the repaired tendon. Even after that the doctor may recommend that the patient bring back a range of motions working with a physiotherapist to limit the possibility of any jerky motions or re-injuries.
Tendon surgery, much like all surgeries, comes with its risk of infections and complications. A patient will have to be tested for reaction to anesthesia and follow all the doctor’s instructions to avoid contracting any infection soon after surgery. Excessive bleeding is a potential problem also.
In some rare cases, scar tissue can form in the repaired area and this can hamper movement and may result in the joint being incompletely fixed. This would be a rare instance of an unsuccessful tendon surgery.
As long as a patient follows all of the doctor’s advice and takes care of the area of the injury, things should go smoothly. You should contact your doctor immediately if you have high fever, redness and swelling around the incision or if you see any fluid draining from the area of the surgery. There is no need to panic but the doctor will have to follow up to make sure that the tendon is responding well to the surgery.
Tendon surgery is a relatively minor operation in the scheme of surgeries but it can be miraculous in terms of how it works to restore normalcy to an injured wrist of a sportsman’s heel.