| Objective: Flexor tendon repair is complicated by adhesions to the surrounding fibro-osseous tendon sheath. Adhesions between the tendon and tendon sheath impair the gliding mechanism of tendons and result in marked impairment of hand function. However, none of treatment strategies is beneficial enough to prevent peritendinous adhesions. Tian and colleagues reported that tendon adhesions can be reduced and tendon excursion can be increased in the patients received decimeter wave therapy after their injured tendons had been repaired. In addition, decimeter wave therapy has analgesic effect, it can relieve pain caused by tendon excurse exercise and can be advantageous to earlier rehabilitation exercise. In this experiment, we studied the effect of decimeter wave therapy on peritendinous adhesion formation and tendon healing after flexor tendon repair in Leghorn chickens, comparing with the operative control group. The chief objective was to discover whether decimeter wavetherapy can prevent tendon adhesion and accelerate tendon healing, and to discover the mechanism of the treatment strategy.Methods: Forty white male Leghorn chickens, aged 4 months and weighing 1.53kg±0.068kg(±s), were randomly divided into 2 groups: decimeter wave-treated group and operative control group with 20 chickens per group, and the third and fourth toes were used. After anesthetized, under tourniquet control, the flexor digitorum profundus tendons (FDP) of the chickens in 2 groups were transected by a sharp blade below Camper's chiasma as the toes was held in extension. The FDP tendons were repaired using a modified Kessler stitch of 6-0 nylon and a 8-0 nylon stitch for circumferential epitenon repair, and the tendon sheaths were repaired using 8-0 nylon. All toes were immobilized in flexion by casts. Decimeter wave therapy was applied to the toes in decimeter wave-treated group from 1 day to 3 weeks postoperative. At 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 weeks, repaired tendons and tendon adhesions from 2 groups were examined macroscopically and histologically. At 2, 4 weeks, the tissue blocks from tendons repair site were prepared for transmission electron microscopy. At 3, 6 weeks postoperative, repaired tendons were graded by the grading criteria of adhesion in histological evaluation, inflammatory grading scale, histologicalgrading system for tendon healing, macroscopic grading system for adhesion, and the ultimate breaking strength, the length of tendon gliding and extent of yieldance to exercise were tested. All the data were analyzed statistically.Results: Peritendinous adhesions in decimeter wave-treated group were looser, and inflammatory changes were decrease, and tendons healing status was better compared with operative control group by macroscopic and histological observation at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 weeks postoperative. Electron microscopy revealed fibroblasts more active metabolism and more collagen formation in decimeter wave-treated group than in operative control group at 2, 4 weeks. Graded by the grading criteria of adhesion in histological evaluation, inflammatory grading scale, histological grading system for tendon healing, macroscopic grading system for adhesion, there were significant differences between 2 groups. Decreased adhesion formation in decimeter wave-treated group was revealed at 3, 6 weeks (P<0.05). Histological examination revealed few intratendon inflammatory changes at 3 weeks and better tendon healing at 6weeks in decimeter wave-treated group (P<0.05). Biomechanical results: At 3 weeks, the average length of tendon gliding was found to be 5.37±1.06mm in decimeter wave-treated group, 4.43±1.03mm in operative control group. At 6 weeks, the average length was 6.76±1.52mm in decimeter wave-treated group, 5.33±1.27mm in operative control group. The length of tendon gliding was larger in decimeter wave-treated group than in operative control group at 3, 6 weeks (P<0.05). At 3 weeks, the average extent of yieldance to exercise was found to be 1.04±0.65mm in decimeter wave-treated group, 0.63±0...
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