1. The case notes of 140 patients with a total of 297 severed long flexor tendons in the thumb and fingers have been analysed.

2. Fifty-seven patients in whom tendon reconstructive surgery was performed have been examined and the results have been recorded by three methods.

3. Methods of assessing finger and tendon function are reviewed and discussed. Accuracy and precision in tendon repair should be followed by an accurate and precise evaluation of tendon, joint and finger function.

4. A method of assessing the function is described. This is expressed as a percentage of the function of the uninjured contralateral finger.

1. Multiple barbed sutures made from nylon are described and the theoretical advantages with the use of the nylon are outlined.

2. Methods of joining tendon stumps using the multiple barbed sutures are illustrated and in vitro tests show that the anchorage of this suture in cadaveric and canine flexor tendons is of the same order.

3. Preliminary in vivo tests where the flexor digitorum profundus tendon of dogs have been repaired with multiple barbed sutures show that it maintains apposition of the tendon stump as effectively as the Bunnell "buried core" technique using G 40 stainless steel wire.

4. The multiple barbed suture is an experimental suture for certain compact tendons capable of giving a neat and relatively atraumatic junction. It requires further study and development. It does not appear to make tendon repair technically easier, nor does it alter the indications for operation or management.