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Achilles Tendon Repair

Rupture of the Achilles tendon is a very common injury that results in pain and the inability to lift the foot. Rupture of the Achilles tendon can be treated both surgically and nonsurgically. Surgical repair has a much lower risk of rerupture of the tendon. However, it carries the risks associated with any surgery including infection, DVT & nerve damage.

Dr Prodromos uses an open surgical repair technique that augments the repair using a flap of tendon tissue taken from the gastrocnemius muscle (one of the muscles in the back of the calf).

The advantages of this technique are:

  • Allows immediated weight bearing and early motion
  • Patient is out of a cast in a week.
  • Low risk of rerupture

Once out of the cast, a patient must wear a special shoe that keeps the heel of the foot higher than the sole and be open in the back. It should have about an 1 1/2 inch slope from heel to toe to keep the foot in the correct position to maximize healing.

One shoe that fits this criteria for men is the Dansko Karl. Dansko has several styles of women’s clog that also fit this criteria.

Credibility Logo

  • American Academy Regenerative Medicine
  • American Academy and Board of Regenerative Medicine
  • American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
  • isakos
  • Rush University Medical Center
  • American Association of Nurse Anesthetists
  • American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
  • European Society of Sports Traumatology, Knee Surgery Academy
  • International Cartilage Repair Society