Achilles Tendon Rupture Repair: Biomechanical Comparison of the Triple Bundle Technique versus the Krakow Locking Loop Technique

Abstract

This study was designed to compare the tensile strength of ruptured Achilles tendons repaired using either the triple bundle technique or the Krakow locking loop technique. Eight pairs of fresh frozen cadaveric Achilles tendons were harvested. A simulated “Achilles tendon rupture” was created 4 cm from the calcaneal insertion in all sixteen tendons by transversely cutting the tendon with a scalpel. One Achilles tendon “rupture” of a pair was repaired using the triple bundle technique, while the other tendon of the pair was repaired using the Krakow locking loop technique. Then, using a servohydraulic testing machine, each tendon was tested to failure in tension at a displacement rate of 2.54 cm/sec. The average rupture load for the triple bundle technique was 453 N (range 397 ñ 549 N), while the average rupture load for the Krakow locking loop technique was 161 N (range 121 ñ 216 N). This difference in averages represents a statistically significant superiority of 2.8 to 1 (p < 0.001) in favor of the triple bundle technique.