In Reparable Rotator Cuff Tears with Lesions of the Long Head of the Biceps Brachii Tendon, Tenotomy Did Not Differ from Tenodesis in Terms of Function or Pain

Abstract

Lee HJ, Jeong JY, Kim CK, Kim YS. Surgical treatment of lesions of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon with rotator cuff tear: a prospective randomized clinical trial comparing the clinical results of tenotomy and tenodesis. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2016 Jul;25(7):1107-14. ### Question: In patients with reparable rotator cuff tears and symptomatic lesions of the long head of the biceps brachii tendon (LHBT), what is the comparative efficacy of tenotomy and tenodesis? ### Design: Randomized (allocation not concealed)*, blinded (patients and outcome assessors), controlled trial with follow-up at a mean of 20 or 25 months. ### Setting: The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ### Patients: 137 patients (mean age, 63 years; 77% women) who needed surgical repair for small to medium-sized rotator cuff tears and had concomitant symptomatic partial tears of the LHBT (confirmed with magnetic resonance imaging) that had shown no improvement after ≥1 month of conservative treatment with medication or corticosteroid injections. The exclusion criteria were large or massive rotator cuff tears, previous shoulder surgery or trauma, glenohumeral arthritis, …