Papers of the Week

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of transcatheter arterial embolization(TAE) for chronic Achilles tendinopathy(AT) refractory to conservative treatment MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 20 patients(12 males and eight females with mean age of 30.3 years) who received TAE using imipenem/cilastatin sodium(IPM/CS) for refractory chronic AT from May 2019 to April 2021. Nine patients had bilateral involvement. Total 29 procedures were performed(8 procedures for nonathletes, 21 procedures for athletes). If feasible, embolization was performed superselectively at arterial branch demonstrating hypervascular staining, early venous drainage and/or supplying pain site noted using radiopaque marker. The visual analogue scale(VAS, 0-10) score was used to assess pain symptom at baseline and during follow-up period (1 day; 1 week; 1, 3, and 6 months; and open period). The clinical success rate was defined as decrease of more than 50% in the VAS score at 6 months when compared to the baseline.