Evaluation of the results from arthroscopic tenodesis of the long head of the biceps brachii on the tendon of the subscapularis muscle()

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results from arthroscopic tenodesis of the long head of the biceps brachii (LHBB) on the tendon of the subscapularis muscle, with regard to the presence of pain, subscapularis lesion, presence of Popeye's sign and patient satisfaction. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted on 32 patients with LHBB lesions, through preoperative interviews and physical examinations, which were repeated six months after the operation. The main variables studied were the belly press, bear hug and lift-off tests, Popeye's sign, anterior pain and satisfaction. The data were entered into Epi Info 3.5.4 and SPSS 18.0. In order to investigate the variables of interest, the chi-square, Student t and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used. The confidence interval was 95% and p values less than 0.05 were taken to be statistically significant. RESULTS: 32 patients of median age 57.5 years were evaluated. Anterior pain was reported by one interviewee after the operation. The tests for evaluating subscapularis lesions did not show any damage to this musculature after the surgery. Popeye's sign was negative in all the patients. The patient satisfaction rate reached 90.6% of the interviewees. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the new surgical technique described here presented excellent performance, without any subscapularis lesion and without identifying Popeye's sign. Only 3.1% of the patients had complaints of residual pain. The high level of satisfaction among the patients after the surgery confirms the results presented.