Experimental tendon grafting within intact tendon sheath.

A chicken toe experimental model was used to study the fate of flexor tendon grafts, introduced into intact tendon sheaths. After perfusion of the limb by India Ink, the vascular pattern of the graft and the synovial sheath could be identified. The grafts showed no or few adhesions to the sheath. With time, there was a conversion from a diffuse superficial vascular pattern towards a concentration of vessels on the dorsal aspect of the graft. In a control group, where the sheath had been resected, adhesions were more apparent, and could be observed still after 16 weeks. These results are in complete agreement with previous experimental findings and further confirm the importance of an intact tube system in the digit.