Impact of Changing Post-Operative Flexor Tendon Rehabilitation Program with Early Detection of Complications

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 The Department of Plastic, Burn and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

2 The Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Background: Hand injuries are among the most frequent
injuries worldwide, constituting between 6.65% to 28.6% of
all injuries and 28% of injuries to the musculoskeletal system.
Early post-operative rehabilitation and splinting after flexor
tendon repair is very important to improve tendon healing.
Presence of dedicated physical therapists play a golden role
in early rehabilitation and diagnosis of tendon complications.
Patients and Methods: Data collected from all admitted
cases with hand injuries during the period (from January 2016
to December 2017). In late 2016, a dedicated physical rehabilitation
hand subunit was created in Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation Department. Hand ultrasound was done to
exclude tendon rupture or tendon adhesions.
Results: 475 cases of flexor tendon injury, zone II injuries
for fingers were the most common meanwhile, for thumb
injuries; zone III in 2016 and zone II in 2017 were the most
common, the rate of flexor tendon rupture in 2016 was 4.32%
(3.3% was early rupture within three weeks) while in 2017
was 2.87% (2.6% were early rupture after three weeks),
Tendon adhesions occurred in 7.32% of total cased in 2016
while in 2017 was 4.76%.
Conclusion: Epidemiological data enhances our knowledge
of injury patterns and may play a role in the treatment of
tendon injuries. With early physical rehabilitation, better
prognosis was achieved and hence better functional outcome.

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The Egyptian Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Volume 43, Issue 3
October 2020
Pages 433-436

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