What Are Tendon Injuries?
Tendons link muscles and bones and control how our wrist and fingers move. Tendons can become injured after trauma or sharp injuries.
Tendon Surgery
Our surgeons have expertise with hand trauma and specialize in tendon repairs. Because scar tissue can form quickly, our surgical team works to repair tendons as soon as possible after injury.
To repair an injured tendon, your surgeon will find the ends of the tendon that are cut and repair them using a strong suture (stitches) technique.
Tendon Transfers in Hands & Arms
Tendons connect our muscles to our bones and joints, playing an important role in helping us move our muscles. Many types of procedures can help our tendons work normally again after injury. For example, if tendons are cut but the entire tendon is still in place, surgeons will perform a tendon repair.
In our body, some tendons play less important roles than others. If a whole section of a tendon is lost during an injury, the tendon can鈥檛 be stitched to itself like most tendon injuries.
However, our surgical team can move or transfer less important tendons in your body to replace the injured tendon. This procedure is called a tendon transfer.
Most tendon transfers are performed in the forearm and hand. Surgeons perform some tendon transfers in the lower extremity (legs, ankles, and feet), but these are less common.
Most patients have successful tendon transfer surgeries. Tendon transfers help hands and arms work normally again after an injury by improving how muscles move.
Rehabilitation After Surgery
After surgery, you will have rehabilitation with our certified hand therapists to help your tendons heal. How soon therapy can start will depend on how the type of injury you had.