Isolated flexor digitorum profundus tendon injuries in zones IIA and IIB repaired with figure of eight sutures

Abstract

The ‘figure of eight’ suture technique for flexor tendon repair is known to be simple and strong but it has the major disadvantage of being bulky, with the knots outside the repair site. When the superficialis tendon is intact it may cause impingement and/or increase the work of flexion with postoperative mobilization and it is not known whether this bulky repair is suitable for isolated profundus injuries in zone II. A series of 36 patients (36 fingers) with clean-cut isolated flexor digitorum profundus tendon injuries in zones IIA/IIB were reviewed retrospectively. Repairs were done with three ‘figure of eight’ sutures and the pulleys proximal to the tendon laceration level were vented. Postoperatively, early active exercises were carried out. There were no ruptures. At a mean final follow-up of 6 months, the outcome (in range of motion) was excellent in 27 fingers and good in the remaining nine fingers by the Strickland criteria. It was concluded that the bulky ‘figure of eight’ technique can be used in isolated profundus tendon injuries in zones IIA/IIB.