Outlet Biceps Tenodesis: A New Technique for Treatment of Biceps Long Head Tendon Injury

Abstract

Degeneration and tearing of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon (LHBT) are common intra-articular findings, and surgical intervention including tenodesis or tenotomy is beneficial. A new arthroscopic shoulder technique may be performed through an anterior portal while one is viewing from a posterior portal: (1) Visualize the intra-articular biceps tendon. (2) (7) Identify and cut the remaining stump of the biceps tendon. Seventeen cadaveric shoulders were used to compare the pullout force, stiffness, and displacement of outlet tenodesis versus tenotomy. There was a significant increase in pullout force for the outlet tenodesis group when compared with tenotomy. This technique is used to operatively treat LHBT intra-articular pathology in patients who would benefit from tenotomy and traditional biceps tenodesis and may minimize the retraction of the biceps tendon distally.

Tenotomy or tenodesis for pathology of the long head of the biceps brachii: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Autotenodesis of the LHB after tenotomy in the bicipital groove and failure of the tenodesis could be the explanation for these phenomena [8]. Lemos et al [12] have reported a novel technique for treatment of LHB pathology in which a modulated enlarged tendon remains in the bicipital groove after tenotomy. This might reduce the cramping pain and Popeye deformity seen after tenotomy.…”

Radiofrequency in arthroscopic shoulder surgery: a systematic review

“…Studies that disclosed the performance profile of RF usage in the shoulder were further analyzed. These studies were grouped by temperature profile (Table 4) [3,20,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62] and complications (Table 5) [21,[63][64][65][66][67][68].…”