Biceps Tenodesis: An Evolution of Treatment.

The long head of the biceps (LHB) tendon is a potential generator of pain within the shoulder. Tenodesis of the LHB is a treatment option for several pathologic shoulder conditions. We conducted a study to determine trends in LHB tenodesis at a subspecialty-focused shoulder orthopedic practice. We hypothesized that the rate of LHB tenodesis would increase significantly over time and that there would be no significant change in the age of patients who underwent LHB tenodesis. Records of 4 fellowship-trained sports or shoulder/elbow orthopedic surgeons were used to identify total number of common arthroscopic shoulder surgeries performed between 2004 and 2014. Number of LHB tenodesis cases, combined or isolated, was recorded. Linear regression was used for analysis with significance set at P < .05. Of the 7640 patients who underwent arthroscopic shoulder procedures between 2004 and 2014, 2125 had LHB tenodesis. Mean (SD) age of the subgroup was 49.33 (13.2) years, and mean (SD) number of LHB tenodesis cases per year was 193.2 (130.5). Over time, mean number of LHB tenodesis cases increased significantly (P = .0024), mean age of patients who had these procedures did not change significantly (P = .934), and percentage of LHB tenodesis cases increased significantly relative to percentage of all arthroscopic shoulder procedures (P = .0099). The number of LHB tenodesis cases is increasing without a significant change in patient age.