3 days Ago By By Keith Roach, M.D.
Q: I am a 69-year-old, very active male. My left Achilles tendon severed two years ago and was surgically repaired. I had an 8-inch incision that has totally healed, with the exception of one small area about the size of the lead of a pencil.
It’s 3 inches above my heel. This small area would close up for a few days, then reopen with small amounts of off-white fluid oozing from the little hole. Sometimes I apply Iodosorb, which does keep the area dry for a while.
For whatever reason, showers seem to make the incision release fluid. I apply a bandage over the wound for most sporting or exercise events, just so that it doesn’t get rubbed by the top of my shoe. Is there any solution to this, or do I just have to live with it? – R.
M. A: The Achilles tendon is a thick, tough piece of connective tissue between the calf muscles and the heel bone. It can rupture under extreme trauma (often sports injuries), in people with weakness of the tendon, or due to treatment with antibiotics in the quinolone class, such as ciprofloxacin.
When repairing the tendon, the surgeon uses sutures or wires to put it back together. A residual wound defect is quite concerning to me. The foreign material in the tendon is at a high risk for infection.
It’s possible that there is an infection, which led to a fistula (an abnormal connection) between the tendon. I definitely recommend going back to see the surgeon. They may want to do further testing (possibly imaging) to see if there is any evidence of an infection in the repaired tendon.
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