Evaluation of treatment outcomes in pediatric tendon injuries

Evaluation of Treatment Outcomes in Pediatric Tendon Injuries Introduction: Tendon lacerations in the hand are serious injuries that are frequently encountered both worldwide and in our country and can lead to high morbidity when not treated appropriately. While there are many studies in this field for the adult patient population, the literature on the pediatric patient group is not yet sufficient. Such injuries in the pediatric group may cause more dramatic clinical outcomes in these patients due to the complexity of diagnosis, surgical treatment and physical therapy. Therefore, it is of great importance for all doctors interested in hand surgery to carefully evaluate the findings of tendon injuries in hand incision cases in pediatric patients and the functional results in patients operated with different surgical techniques in order to carry out an effective diagnosis and treatment process. Materials and Methods: Our study was planned as a single-center, retrospective study in Çukurova University Faculty of Medicine Balcalı Hospital and pediatric patients who were admitted to our clinic with hand tendon injuries and treated surgically were examined. Postoperative outcomes of tendon injuries in pediatric patient groups were investigated. In our study, the pediatric age group was taken as under 18 years of age. According to the criteria, 79 patients were included in the study. Patients were evaluated in terms of demographic information, injury characteristics, presence of concomitant injuries, treatment type. Results: A total of 140 flexor tendons were affected in 79 patients in our study. male gender, flexor tendon injuries and glass injuries were more common. When evaluated in terms of the affected extremity, it was evaluated that the injuries were more common in the right hand. It was analyzed that flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) tendons were affected in the majority of cases. These injuries were more frequently seen in zone 2.Modified Kessler method was the most preferred method among the repair techniques applied in patients who underwent primary repair. The most common pathology accompanying tendon injury was nerve injury. Conclusion: Our study on pediatric patients with hand flexor tendon injuries revealed that diagnosis, surgical treatment and rehabilitation processes vary depending on age and type of trauma. The data obtained show that functional and sensory recovery is closely related to surgical technique, age group and level of injury significantly affects clinical outcomes. In addition, the prevalence of glass cuts due to home accidents and the high incidence of glass punch cases in adolescents once again reveal the importance of preventive health approaches, family education, psychiatric evaluation and multidisciplinary approach to these cases. Keywords: Pediatric, retrospective, flexor, tendon injuries