General principles of tendon transfers: The ten commandments

Abstract

Transferring a muscle’s point of force application by modifying its distal insertion will modify its function. This is the basic principle of tendon transfers. Despite being less popular due to superior primary nerve repair results, hand surgeons must be familiar with them. When used according to the Ten Commandments we propose, they provide good and useful functional recovery. Obviously, it depends on the number of muscles available for transfer. Tendon transfer is useful not only in nerve trunk palsy and brachial plexus lesions but also in upper limb tetraplegia rehabilitation. Tendon transfers are active palliative treatments under voluntary command and can be combined with other palliative procedures (arthrodesis, tenodesis) to improve the functional result. Nevertheless, they are far from ideal, as they re-allocate the remaining forces of the limb but do not create new ones.