PREVALENCE OF POPEYE DEFORMITY AFTER LONG HEAD BICEPS TENOTOMY AND TENODESIS.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether body mass index (BMI) 30 can be used as a cut-off point in decisions about whether or not to perform long head biceps (LHB) tenodesis, leading to a low rate of esthetic complaints, and to compare two tenodesis techniques.

METHODS

Ninety-six patients underwent shoulder arthroscopy where tenotomy was performed separately in patients with a BMI ≥30 and was followed by tenodesis when BMI <30. The patients were assessed on the basis of their personal perception of the deformity and by 3 independent observers.

RESULTS

The patient's perception of esthetic deformity in the arm was 15.6%. In the tenotomy group (12.5%) and in the tenodesis group (17.9%) - (p = 0.476). Patients with rocambole-like tenodesis perceived the deformity in 13.2% of cases, while patients with anchor tenodesis noticed the deformity 27.8% (p = 0.263) of the time. There was no statistical difference in the perception of deformity among the independent examiners.

CONCLUSION

BMI 30 can be used as a cut-off point in decisions about whether or not to perform LHB tenodesis, leading to low rates of esthetic complaint by patients (12.5%). The rocambole-like tenodesis technique appears to be more able to avoid esthetic deformity of the arm after the LHB tenotomy according to the patients' observations.