The American journal of orthopedics
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Rupture of the pectoralis major tendon is an uncommon injury that typically occurs in young, active people. Of this injury population, active-duty military personnel represent a unique, athletic subset that is commonly treated with operative repair. For the retrospective case series reported here, we hypothesized that active-duty soldiers with acute and chronic pectoralis major tendon ruptures treated with operative repair would have high levels of patient satisfaction, quick return to work and sports, and few long-term complications. ⋯ There was a statistically significant difference between outcomes for the immediate- and delayed- treatment groups, with the immediate-treatment group having better overall DASH and Work Module scores. Patients had a 30% to 40% objective loss of strength after surgery. Active-duty soldiers reported acceptable overall outcomes after both immediate and delayed treatment for pectoralis major tendon ruptures, but a statistically significant difference was found in overall DASH and Work Module scores between the treatment groups.