Tenoscopic Debridement or Surgical Repair for Longitudinal Tears of the Equine Deep Digital Flexor Tendon Within the Digital Flexor Tendon Sheath?

PICO question In horses with longitudinal tears of the deep digital flexor tendon within the digital flexor tendon sheath, is surgical repair as effective as tenoscopic debridement alone for returning to previous level of performance? Clinical bottom line Current literature on the efficacy of surgical repair or tenoscopic debridement is limited. Criteria to define and evaluate performance outcomes is not uniform and confounded with multiple variables, merely representing low quality evidence that is difficult to draw meaningful conclusions from. However, the literature suggests tenoscopic debridement alone has been associated with improved outcomes. A more definitive conclusion cannot be made until higher quality evidence is made available on this topic.