Bilateral simultaneous ruptures are rare comprising less than 1% of all Achilles tendon ruptures. Risk factors for bilateral ruptures include chronic diseases and medications such as corticosteroids and fluoroquinolones. There is little in the literature on the long-term functional outcome of bilateral Achilles tendon ruptures. This article present a series of 3 cases of simultaneous and spontaneous bilateral Achilles tendon ruptures with a minimum of 5-year follow up suggesting a good functional outcome.
HabustaSF. Bilateral simultaneous rupture of the Achilles tendon. A rare traumatic injury. Clin Orthop. 1995;320:231-234.
2.
LeppilahtiJPuranenJOravaS. Incidence of Achilles tendon rupture. Acta Orthop Scand. 1996;67:277-279.
3.
CowenMAAlexanderS. Simultaneous bilateral rupture of Achilles tendon due to triamcinolone. BMJ. 1961;1:1658.
4.
KotnisRAHalsteadJCHormbreyPJ. Atraumatic bilateral Achilles tendon rupture: an association of systemic steroid treatment. J Accid Emerg Med. 1999;16:378-379.
5.
GottschalkAWBachmanJW. Death following bilateral complete Achilles tendon rupture in a patient on fluoroquinolone therapy: a case report. J Med Case Reports. 2009;3:1.
6.
UretenKOztürkMAOzbekMUnverdiS. Spontaneous and simultaneous rupture of both Achilles tendons and pathological fracture of the femur neck in a patient receiving long-term hemodialysis. Int Urol Nephrol. 2008;40:1103-1106.
7.
BurchhardtHKrebsU. Simultaneous and subsequent bilateral spontaneous Achilles tendon ruptures after steroid therapy and in diabetes mellitus. Chirurg. 1991;62:830-831.
8.
Nilsson-HelanderKThomeéRSilbernagelKG. The Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS): development and validation. Am J Sports Med. 2007;35:421-426.
9.
AydinSAtagunduzPFilippucciEYavuzSDireskeneliH. A rare case of spontaneous, bilateral Achilles tendon rupture in systemic lupus erythematosus and a review of the literature. Lupus. 2008;17:1051-1052.
10.
AkaliAUNiranjanNS. Management of bilateral Achilles tendon rupture associated with ciprofloxacin: a review and case presentation. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2008;61:830-834.
KhanRJFickDKeoghACrawfordJBrammarTParkerM. Treatment of acute Achilles tendon ruptures. A metaanalysis of randomized, controlled trials. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2005;87:2202-2210.
13.
BhandariMGuyattGHSiddiquiF. Treatment of acute Achilles tendon ruptures: a systematic overview and meta-analysis. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2002;400:190-200.
14.
MaffulliNTallonCWongJLimKPBleakneyR. Early weight bearing and ankle mobilization after open repair of acute midsubstance tears of the achilles tendon. Am J Sports Med. 2003;31:692-700.
15.
TwaddleBCPoonP. Early motion for Achilles tendon ruptures: is surgery important? A randomized, prospective study. Am J Sports Med. 2007;35:2033-2038.
16.
KearneyRSAchtenJLambSEPlantCCostaML. A systematic review of patient-reported outcome measures used to assess Achilles tendon rupture management: what’s being used and should we be using it? [published online ahead of print November 16, 2011] Br J Sports Med. 2011. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2011-090497.
17.
MaffulliNLongoUGRongaMKhannaADenaroV. Favorable outcome of percutaneous repair of Achilles tendon ruptures in the elderly. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2010;468:1039-1046.
18.
Nilsson-HelanderKSwärdLSilbernagelKGThomeéRErikssonBIKarlssonJ. A new surgical method to treat chronic ruptures and reruptures of the Achilles tendon. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2008;16:614-620.
