Trends in Repair vs. Biceps Tenodesis for Superior Labrum From Anterior to Posterior (SLAP) Tear: An Epidemiological Study

Background The purpose of this epidemiologic study was to report general trends in the number of superior labrum from anterior to posterior (SLAP) tear repairs and biceps tenodesis performed along with the patient and hospital characteristics within the period of 2016-2018. Methods National Ambulatory Surgery Sample (NASS) database was used as the source of data for this epidemiologic study of the United States population. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes were utilized to identify patients that underwent SLAP repair or biceps tenodesis between 2016 and 2018. Results The national estimates of encounters from the NASS database reported 29,931 SLAP repairs in 2016 and each subsequent year saw a decline to 26,509 repairs in 2017 and 23,451 repairs in 2018 (p<0.0001). Conversely, in 2016 there were 19,221 biceps tenodeses and each subsequent year saw an increase to 21,625 biceps tenodeses in 2017 and 22,867 biceps tenodeses in 2018 (p<0.0001). Conclusion The results of our epidemiologic study found that the total number of SLAP repairs is decreasing while biceps tenodesis is increasing. SLAP repairs were performed for younger patients and biceps tenodeses were performed for older patients. This study demonstrates that clinical practice reflective of recent evidence regarding optimal age for SLAP repair is slow to change. While there is ongoing debate as to the gold standard for the surgical management of SLAP tear lesions, our study confirms that there is an increasing trend among orthopedic surgeons favoring biceps tenodesis which may reflect the increasing literature evidence supporting better clinical outcomes after biceps tenodesis compared to SLAP repair.