Nonoperative or Surgical Treatment of Acute Achilles' Tendon Rupture

Background: Whether surgical repair of an acute Achilles' tendon rupture by an open-repair or minimally invasive approach is associated with better outcomes than nonsurgical treatment is not clear.

Methods: We performed a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial that compared nonoperative treatment, open repair, and minimally invasive surgery in adults with acute Achilles' tendon rupture who presented to four trial centers. The primary outcome was the change from baseline in the Achilles' tendon Total Rupture Score (scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better health status) at 12 months. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of tendon rerupture.

Results: A total of 554 patients underwent randomization, and 526 patients were included in the final analysis. The mean changes in the Achilles' tendon Total Rupture Score were -17.0 points in the nonoperative group, -16.0 points in the open-repair group, and -14.7 points in the minimally invasive surgery group (P = 0.57). Pairwise comparisons provided no evidence of differences between the groups. The changes from baseline in physical performance and patient-reported physical function were similar in the three groups. The number of tendon reruptures was higher in the nonoperative group (6.2%) than in the open-repair or minimally invasive surgery group (0.6% in each). There were 9 nerve injuries in the minimally invasive surgery group (in 5.2% of the patients) as compared with 5 in the open-repair group (in 2.8%) and 1 in the nonoperative group (in 0.6%).

Conclusions: In patients with Achilles' tendon rupture, surgery (open repair or minimally invasive surgery) was not associated with better outcomes than nonoperative treatment at 12 months. (Funded by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority and Akershus University Hospital; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01785264.).