REPAIR OF TENDONS BY FASCIAL TRANSPLANTATION

The free transplantation of tendons to repair defects in other tendons resulting from trauma or infection has become a well-recognized surgical procedure. The tendon of the palmaris longus has been used in most of the cases in which free transplantation has been attempted, for it can be removed without interfering with the function of the wrist or hand. When a number of tendons are to be repaired — for example, when the common extensor tendons of the fingers are to be repaired or when long defects exist in the tendons—enough material may not be supplied by the palmaris longus tendons and another source of supply for material for transplantation must be looked for.

Experimentally, it has been demonstrated that fascia behaves much like tendon when transplanted, and that long defects in tendons may be bridged by tubes of fascia; and that tendon, which cannot be differentiated from the tendon which