Indirect markers for length adjustment in distal biceps tendon allograft reconstruction

Chronic musculotendinous retraction, shortening and fibrosis after distal biceps tendon tears makes a primary reconstruction often difficult or even impossible. Interposition reconstruction with allograft provides a solution, however there is no consensus about appropriate intraoperative graft length adjustment. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find a practical reference value for distal biceps tendon length adjustment. Three-dimensional surface models of healthy distal biceps tendons were created based on 85 MRI scans. The tendon length was measured from the myotendinous junction to the insertion on the bicipital tuberosity. Inter-epicondylar distance (IED) and radial head diameter (RHD) were measured on antero-posterior radiographs as a surrogate for patient size. Correlations between the tendon length and IED, RHD and patient’s height (PH) were calculated. Mean length of the external part of the distal biceps tendon was 69mm (female 64mm, male 71mm). The tendon length in mm was on average 1.1 times of the IED (mm), 3 times of the RHD (mm) and 0.4 times of PH (cm). Herewith, the tendon length could be predicted within a narrow range of +/-1cm in 84% by using IED, 82% by using RHD and 80% by using PH. Intra- and inter-reader reliabililty of IED and RHD was excellent (R(2) = 0.938–0.981). The distal biceps tendon length can be best predicted within 1cm with an accuracy of 82–84% using the IED and RHD with an excellent intra- and inter-reader reliability.