Surgical repair of acute traumatic closed transection of the biceps brachii. 2002

John F Kragh, and Carl J Basamania
Orthopaedic Service, Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA. john.kragh@amedd.army.mil

BACKGROUND Effective techniques to repair transected muscles are not well described. We determined the outcome of surgically repaired closed transections of the biceps muscle with regard to strength, appearance, and patient satisfaction. METHODS We conducted a study on surgical repair of acute traumatic closed transection of the muscle belly of the biceps brachii in paratroopers. Muscle fibers and epimysium were sutured with use of running interlocked stitches as well as modified Mason-Allen stitches. We gathered data on the supination torque, appearance of the arm, and patient satisfaction. Nine patients underwent surgical repair and were followed for a mean of 2.2 years. Three patients, who constituted a comparative group, had nonoperative treatment of complete transections of the biceps and were followed for a mean of eleven years. RESULTS We found that the patients who had surgical repair had better results than did those who had nonoperative treatment, with respect to supination torque (a mean of 11.0 N-m compared with 5.8 N-m, p = 0.0005), appearance (a mean of 4.6 cm compared with 3.0 cm, according to the cosmetic visual analog scale; p = 0.000002), and satisfaction (excellent in all nine patients who had surgical repair and satisfactory in all three who had nonoperative treatment). CONCLUSIONS The results after repair of acute traumatic closed transection of the biceps brachii with the new surgical technique described in the present study demonstrated a significant improvement in terms of function, appearance, and patient satisfaction compared with those after nonoperative treatment.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008889 Military Personnel Persons including soldiers involved with the armed forces. Air Force Personnel,Armed Forces Personnel,Army Personnel,Coast Guard,Marines,Navy Personnel,Sailors,Soldiers,Submariners,Military,Force Personnel, Air,Personnel, Air Force,Personnel, Armed Forces,Personnel, Army,Personnel, Military,Personnel, Navy,Sailor,Soldier,Submariner
D005500 Follow-Up Studies Studies in which individuals or populations are followed to assess the outcome of exposures, procedures, or effects of a characteristic, e.g., occurrence of disease. Followup Studies,Follow Up Studies,Follow-Up Study,Followup Study,Studies, Follow-Up,Studies, Followup,Study, Follow-Up,Study, Followup
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000208 Acute Disease Disease having a short and relatively severe course. Acute Diseases,Disease, Acute,Diseases, Acute
D000293 Adolescent A person 13 to 18 years of age. Adolescence,Youth,Adolescents,Adolescents, Female,Adolescents, Male,Teenagers,Teens,Adolescent, Female,Adolescent, Male,Female Adolescent,Female Adolescents,Male Adolescent,Male Adolescents,Teen,Teenager,Youths
D000328 Adult A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available. Adults
D001134 Arm Injuries General or unspecified injuries involving the UPPER ARM and the FOREARM. Injuries, Arm,Arm Injury,Injury, Arm
D001359 Aviation Design, development, manufacture, and operation of heavier-than-air AIRCRAFT. Parachuting,Air Traffic Control,Control, Air Traffic,Traffic Control, Air
D012189 Retrospective Studies Studies used to test etiologic hypotheses in which inferences about an exposure to putative causal factors are derived from data relating to characteristics of persons under study or to events or experiences in their past. The essential feature is that some of the persons under study have the disease or outcome of interest and their characteristics are compared with those of unaffected persons. Retrospective Study,Studies, Retrospective,Study, Retrospective

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