Surgical treatment of Achilles tendon rupture

Ruptures of the Achilles tendon are rare, but their incidence seems to become higher due to changes of life style and to increasing sports activities. Concerning the optimal therapy--conservative or surgical--there still exist diverging opinions. In our clinic, we have always preferred surgical therapy. We present a survey of the results of surgical treatment in 139 patients. Based on our own experience and on a literature review we recommend surgical therapy for rupture of the Achilles tendon, mainly in view of the high incidence of reruptures after conservative treatment and the existing functional results.