Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Orthop. Mar 18, 2016; 7(3): 188-194
Published online Mar 18, 2016. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v7.i3.188
Outcomes of tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon more than three months after rupture
Patrick J McMahon, Andrea Speziali
Patrick J McMahon, McMahon Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, United States
Patrick J McMahon, Andrea Speziali, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, United States
Andrea Speziali, Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Catholic University, Agostino Gemelli’s Hospital, 00168 Rome, Italy
Author contributions: McMahon PJ and Speziali A contributed to conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, making critical revisions related to important intellectual content of the manuscript, and final approval of the version of the article to be published; McMahon PJ and Speziali A contributed equally to this work.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provide informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No funding or financial support had been received by the authors. No potential sources of conflict of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: Participants gave informed consent for data sharing.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Patrick J McMahon, MD, Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 2100 Jane St, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, United States. mcmahonp@upmc.edu
Telephone: +1-412-4317342 Fax: +1-412-4317341
Received: February 3, 2015
Peer-review started: February 4, 2015
First decision: July 6, 2015
Revised: December 3, 2015
Accepted: December 18, 2015
Article in press: December 20, 2015
Published online: March 18, 2016
Abstract

AIM: To demonstrate that long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) tenodesis is possible more than 3 mo after rupture.

METHODS: From September 2009 to January 2012 we performed tenodesis of the LHBT in 11 individuals (average age 56.9 years, range 42 to 73) more than 3 mo after rupture. All patients were evaluated by Disabilites of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and Mayo outcome scores at an average follow-up of 19.1 mo. We similarly evaluated 5 patients (average age 58.2 years, range 45 to 64) over the same time treated within 3 mo of rupture with an average follow-up of 22.5 mo.

RESULTS: Tenodesis with an interference screw was possible in all patients more than 3 mo after rupture and 90% had good to excellent outcomes but two had recurrent rupture. All of those who had tenodesis less than 3 mo after rupture had good to excellent outcomes and none had recurrent rupture. No statistical difference was found for DASH and Mayo outcome scores between the two groups (P <0.05).

CONCLUSION: Tenodesis of LHBT more than 3 mo following rupture had outcomes similar to tenodesis done within 3 mo of rupture but recurrent rupture occurred in 20%.

Keywords: Popeye deformity, Chronic rupture, Biceps tenodesis, Muscular spasm, Interference screw, Long head of biceps tendon

Core tip: While some think long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) tenodesis is not possible more than 3 mo after rupture, we have demonstrated that it is and will yeld to outcomes similar to tenodesis done within 3 mo. The LHBT tenodesis was achieved in all patients affected by chronic rupture.