Fixing Tendons

Reported April 25, 2011

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Whether they do it smashing their hand in a door or just cutting a sandwich, this year, 16 million Americans will suffer a hand injury serious enough to send them to the ER. For injuries that involve a severed tendon in one of your fingers, the function of the whole hand can be seriously compromised. The good news is that severed tendons can be repaired.

He’s the stay-at-home dad of an active two-year-old. 47-year-old Wallis Gopilall definitely has his hands full. But, a year ago, Wallis lost the use of his left hand. He accidentally cut his left forefinger to the bone, severing his tendon.

“I thought I was going to lose a finger. It wasn’t straight. It was bent, so I thought I'd lose part of the finger," Wallis Gopiall told Ivanhoe. "You don’t know the use of it until something happens and then you have to use it back again and you can’t.”

For tendon injuries, studies show standard sutures aren’t always a strong enough fix.

"Tendons that are fixed with sutures, regular sutures, you cannot move them on your own. They will rupture right away,” Wadih Macksoud, M.D., an orthopedic hand surgeon at Jewett Orthopaedics, explained.

For Wallis’s injury, doctor Wadih Macksoud used a system specially designed for tendon repair. A tiny corkscrew-shaped anchor is placed at each end of the severed tendon. Then, a braided steel suture is inserted through the anchor on each end for a strong, permanent fix.

“Now what you have is tendon and a cable between them that is fixed to the inside of the tendon. That thing is solid enough that you can fix the tendon and start the patient moving from day one,” Dr. Macksoud said.

Wallis knows he has to stay in shape to keep up with this little one, but his hand is definitely better.

“A lot better!" Wallis said.

He’s still got his hands full, but this active dad is glad to be back on track.

The tendon repair system called Teno Fix is FDA approved and is in use in numerous medical centers around the united states to repair tendons in the hand and foot. Once the steel suture is placed inside the tendon, it is not removed. It stays in place permanently. In most cases, the procedure is covered by insurance.