Endoscopic speed bridge: A new treatment for insertional Achilles tendinopathy

Surgical treatment may be indicated after failure of medical management of insertional Achilles tendinopathy, and may consist in simple calcaneoplasty, increasingly performed endoscopically, or in open detachment-reattachment. Isolated calcaneoplasty sometimes shows poor results in case of multiple overlooked lesions (bone, tendon, pre-or retro-tendinous bursitis). Detachment-reattachment may be indicated in case of tendon lesion, but incurred scar and infection related risk in up to 30% of cases in certain reports. In this context, we describe a new original technique using an endoscopic Achilles speed bridge, which we call the snake technique for the S-shaped order of performance of the 6 necessary approaches. (c) 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Surgical treatment options for insertional Achilles tendinopathy include calcaneoplasty and detachment-reattachment, with the latter carrying a risk of scar and infection in a certain percentage of cases. A new technique using an endoscopic Achilles speed bridge, called the snake technique, has been described for this condition.