Twelve cases of the pectoralis major muscle tendon rupture with surgical treatment-an average of 6.7-year follow-up.

Background: Pectoralis major tendon rupture is a relatively rare injury leading to both functional and cosmetic deficiency. The peak torque of the pectoralis major is significantly decreased after conservational treatment of a total rupture. We suppose that surgical intervention is better choice.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 12 patients who were diagnosed with distal pectoralis major muscle rupture and underwent operation in our institute from 1993 to 2007. All patients were male with a mean age of 32 (19 - 54) years. In 4 patients, tendon reconstruction was accomplished by fixing the tendon to the humerus using sutures passed through predrilled humeral bone tunnels. In 8 patients, tendon reconstruction was accomplished by directly suturing the muscle to the tendon. All patients followed an accelerated rehabilitation protocol. Treatment results were evaluated according to the following criteria: (1) visual analogue pain scale, (2) isokinetic strength measurements, (3) range of motion of shoulder joint, (4) cosmetic result, and (5) postoperative sports activity performance. In this study, we aimed to describe our surgical technique of reconstruction of the rupture of pectoralis major muscle and to summarize the clinical results of the operative treatment.

Results: At the final follow-up examination (6.5 years postoperatively), only nine patients were available for evaluation. Three of them had excellent results, and five had good results, while one had poor results. Eight of the patients were able to return to their preinjury level of sporting activity. In summary, 89% of the patients achieved excellent or good results.

Conclusion: Surgical treatment by anatomic tendon repair and accelerated rehabilitation can make recovery of strength and function of the pectoralis major muscle.