Surgery for chronic Achilles tendinopathy produces worse results in women

PURPOSE: To report the middle term outcome in male and female patients who underwent surgery for chronic recalcitrant Achilles tendinopathy. METHODS: We tried to match each of the 58 female patients with a diagnosis of tendinopathy of the main body of the Achilles tendon with a male patient with tendinopathy of the main body of the Achilles tendon who was within two years of age at the time of operation. A match accordingly was possible for 41 female subjects. RESULTS: Female patients were shorter and lighter than male patients. They had similar BMI, lower calf circumference, similar side-to-side calf circumference differences, and greater subcutaneous body fat than men. Of the 41 sedentary patients, only 25 reported an excellent or good result. Of these, three had undergone a further exploration of the Achilles tendon. The remaining patients could not return to their normal levels of activity despite prolonged supervised post-operative physiotherapy, with cryotherapy, massage, ultrasound, pulsed magnetic, and laser therapy. CONCLUSION: Females experience more prolonged recovery, more complications, and a greater risk of further surgery than males with recalcitrant Achilles tendinopathy.