The excursion and deformation of repaired flexor tendons treated with protected early motion.

A canine flexor tendon repair model was used to study the magnitude of early tendon excursion, the consistency of tendon gliding, and the amount of repair site elongation when protected early motion techniques were used. Tendon excursion of 3.8 +/- 1.1 mm was maintained with limited passive flexion and extension movements on a consistent basis throughout the first 14 days. There was no significant repair site deformation in 11 of 12 tendons and little variation in the range of tendon gliding during this period.