[Late results of flexor tendon sutures in a "no man's land" of the hand].

The authors studied the late functional results of primary and secondary Kleinert-Kessler flexor tendon sutures in "no man's land" in their five-year clinical material. They compared the data of preoperative prognosis and postoperative results and found good correlation. Best results were achieved after primary tendon suture. Therefore, they--like others--advise operation if the conditions for primary tendon suture exist. In secondary tendon repairs mainly the preoperative state of the injured hand determined the postoperative results. In the part of their cases with the worst prognosis, late results were unfavourable because of peritendinous adhesions. In these cases new methods to improve the end results are necessary.