Abstract
Context Isolated Achilles tendon (AT) injuries are rarely reported in the pediatric age group.
There are only few case reports of traumatic AT injuries in children. Floor-level
Indian toilet seats and shooting stones from mountains make such injuries reasonably
common in northern India.
Aims To identify similar patterns of AT rupture in the pediatric age group from floor-level
Indian toilet seats and shooting stones.
Materials and Methods We report a series of 13 patients in the age group between 8 and 18 years who presented
to our hospital between January 2019 and January 2021 with open AT injuries. All the
patients were operated on after wound washing and debridement. Standard injectable
antibiotic coverage was given to all. In the statistical analysis, the values were
expressed as means and medians.
Results In 10 out of the 13 patients, the toilet seat induced the AT injury; for the remaining
3 patients, the injury was induced by shooting stones. A total of two patients had
postoperative wound complications, and one patient needed flap coverage. All the patients
did well by the final follow up.
Conclusion The main aim of the present study was to show the unusual causes of an injury rarely
reported in pediatric age group. We observed that open AT ruptures in children are
reasonably common in our region as compared with the rest of the world. Indian toilets
can be replaced with Western toilets or modified so they have a less slippery surface,
in order to prevent such injuries in children.
Keywords
Achilles tendon - pediatric - Indian - new pattern - trauma
