All Soft-suture Anchor versus Suture Bridge Construct for Insertional Achilles

Category:AnkleIntroduction/Purpose:New techniques and anchors have been developed for the surgical treatment of insertional Achilles tendinopathy and rupture to allow for earlier return to postoperative weight bearing and accelerated rehabilitation. Two recently introduced soft tissue-to-bone anchor technology have purported advantages for insertional Achilles repairs. Knotless suture anchors allow suture tension to be precisely controlled with a ratcheting mechanism. The other is a suture bridge construct fastened with biotenodesis screws, increasing the soft tissue footprint and reducing the risk of suture pullout through the tendon. However, neither technology has been studied in a biomechanical model of Achilles tendon repair. We hypothesized that there would be no difference in the biomechanical characteristics of a single-row all-suture anchor repair to a double-row repair with knotless anchors and suture tape.Methods:Six matched-pairs of fresh-frozen lower leg cadaveric specimens (12 total) were ob...