Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The current clinical methods of flexor tendon repair are remarkably different from those used 20 years ago. This article starts with a review of the current methods, followed by presentation of past experience and current status of six eminent hand surgery units from four continents/regions. Many units are using, or are moving toward using, the recent strong (multi-strand) core suture method together with a simpler peripheral suture. Venting of the critical pulleys over less than 2 cm length is safe and favours functional recovery. These repair and recent motion protocols lead to remarkably more reliable repairs, with over 80% good or excellent outcomes achieved rather consistently after Zone 2 repair along with infrequent need of tenolysis. Despite slight variations in repair methods, they all consider general principles and should be followed. Outcomes of Zone 2 repairs are not dissimilar to those in other zones with very low to zero incidence of rupture.
Tang et al. (Fri,) studied this question.