Advantages of "epitenon first" suture placement technique in flexor tendon repair.

: A carefully performed flexor tendon repair should not result in enlargement of the tenorrhaphy. However, many current repair techniques using a core suture followed by an epitendinous suture have this drawback. A technique of placing the epitenon suture first, followed by the core suture, is discussed, and the advantages of the technique are emphasized.