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A 30-year-old, right-handed man presented with the insidious onset of right shoulder pain associated with overhead activities. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a perilabral ganglion cyst associated with a SLAP lesion (lesion of the superior labrum, both anterior and posterior). After unsuccessful treatment with sonographically directed percutaneous aspiration of the cyst, arthroscopic techniques were employed to intra-articularly decompress the cyst and stabilize the labral tear.

The tensile failures of extensor digitorum longus muscle tendon units from 16 male New Zealand White rabbits were studied in the fresh state (less than 30 minutes after death) and in the frozen/thawed state (frozen at -80 degrees C for 28 days and then warmed to 38 degrees C). Frozen/thawed extensor digitorum longus muscle tendon units had significantly lower values for load to failure (p < 0.01), energy absorbed to failure (p < 0.01), and strain at failure (p < 0.01), and they tended to fail at a different anatomic location (p < 0.01) (broadly at the fascia-muscle interface as compared with horizontally at the musculotendinous junction) than fresh units. The results of this study suggest that freezing muscle tendon units significantly alters their tensile failure characteristics.

This article presents a case of entrapment of the flexor hallucis longus tendon after open reduction and internal fixation of a Weber C ankle fracture resulting in interphalangeal joint contracture of the hallux. Pathology involving other tendons at the foot and ankle associated with ankle fractures is reviewed. Other scenarios of flexor hallucis longus pathology are discussed. Flexor hallucis longus anatomy, as related to distal fibular fractures, is outlined, and a recommendation is made to consider flexor hallucis longus entrapment as a cause of hallux dysfunction after open reduction and internal fixation of an ankle fracture.