Repair of an Acute Latissimus Dorsi Tendon Rupture Using Bicortical Button Fixation

We report a case of acute rupture of the latissimus dorsi in a competitive gymnast. Initial magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the injury and showed that the tendon had retracted 6 cm. Primary repair using bicortical button fixation, a novel fixation technique, was performed. The patient successfully returned to competition and reported personal best scores on high bar and parallel bars. Cadaveric studies comparing cortical buttons to sutures and suture anchors for tendon reattachment found cortical buttons to have higher loads to failure. Overall, this suggests the technique described here may provide superior outcomes for a patient population who will stress the repair at elite levels.
Source: Techniques in Shoulder and Elbow Surgery - Category: Orthopaedics Tags: Research Articles Source Type: research