Revision Surgery and Wound Complications with Minimally Invasive Compared to Open Achilles Tendon Repair: A Retrospective Comparative Study of 116 Patients

The current study analyzed revision surgery rate and wound complications of patients with Achilles tendon ruptures that received either minimally invasive repair or open standard repair. A retrospective chart review of patients that had Achilles tendon repair performed using either an open or minimally invasive technique was conducted. Primary outcomes were revision surgery rate and wound complication rate. Twenty-nine (25.0%) patients had the minimally invasive approach, while 87 (75.0%) had the open approach. On average there were 0.16 additional surgeries per patient in the open group versus none in the minimally invasive group (p = 0.003). There were 13 wound-related complications, all of which were in the open group (p = 0.06). Revision surgery rates are significantly higher for patients treated with open Achilles repair versus those treated with a minimally invasive technique. Patients may benefit from a minimally invasive as opposed to open technique. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 32(3):173–176, 2023)

Key words: Achilles, minimally invasive, wound complication, open repair