About the paper
This article, published in Arthroscopy Techniques, describes an all-arthroscopic onlay technique for suprapectoral biceps tenodesis.
What a biceps tenodesis is for
The long head of the biceps tendon runs up through the shoulder joint and attaches to the top of the socket. It is a common source of shoulder pain, and it is involved in biceps tendon ruptures, SLAP tears of the labrum where the tendon attaches, and instability.
A tenodesis moves the tendon's insertion from the glenoid, inside the joint, to the humerus, outside it. This takes the tendon out of the joint while retaining its function in the arm.
The technique described
The paper describes an all-arthroscopic onlay technique performed within the bicipital groove, above the insertion of the pectoralis major, using standard equipment and a single knotless suture anchor. Fixing the tendon at an appropriate length is important to how the biceps functions afterwards, and the technique is designed with that in mind.
Arthroscopic approaches to biceps tenodesis are generally associated with less soft tissue disruption than open surgery. The paper is a technical description; it does not report comparative outcome data, and no complication or failure rates are presented. Individual results vary.
Authors and affiliations
Ashish Gupta, Kathir Azhagan Stalin, Helen Ingoe, Roberto Pareyon and Brandon Ziegenfuss.
Affiliations: St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital, QUASR, the ARC Training Centre for Joint Biomechanics, QUT and The University of Queensland.
Read it
The article is available on ScienceDirect.
Related information
See our shoulder injuries and shoulder surgery pages, and shoulder anatomy for where the biceps tendon runs.