PURPOSE

To assess the biomechanical performance of 2 simplified loop-and-tack biceps tenodesis techniques, all-suture anchor and all-suture anchor with a button, compared with the interference screw technique in an ovine model.

METHODS

Twenty-one biceps tenodesis procedures were executed on the humeri and flexor digitorum profundus tendons of skeletally mature, female sheep. Limbs were evenly randomized into 2 experimental groups (all-suture anchor with or without button) and 1 control group (interference screw). Cyclic loading followed by a load-to-failure test was conducted. The primary outcome metric was end-cycle stiffness, or stiffness measured at the end of cyclic loading, because it modeled the resistance of the construct to the lower-force activities of postoperative physical therapy. Secondary metrics included ultimate failure load (UFL), yield load, creep, and load-to-failure stiffness. End-cycle stiffness difference-of-means testing was conducted with a minimal clinically important difference threshold of -15 N/mm (-1.5 kg/mm). Groups were compared using analysis of variance for all recorded variables.

RESULTS

Both the all-suture anchor techniques, without a button and with a button, were found to be noninferior in end-cycle stiffness to the interference screw technique (-5.2 N/mm [95% confidence interval, -13.6 to 3.3 N/mm] and -3.8 N/mm [95% confidence interval, -12.5 to -4.9 N/mm], respectively) with a minimal clinically important difference of -15 N/mm. The all-suture techniques showed significantly lower UFL, lower yield load, greater creep, and lower load-to-failure stiffness ( < .001, < .001,  = .002, and < .001, respectively). Tendon dimensions did not vary significantly across groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Under subfailure loading conditions, the all-suture anchor techniques with a button and without a button showed end-cycle stiffness noninferiority to an interference screw technique; however, these techniques were inferior in all secondary outcomes, including significantly lower UFL, lower yield load, greater creep, and lower load-to-failure stiffness.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The all-suture anchor approaches with a button and without a button may retain the natural length-tension dynamics of the long head of the biceps tendon because fixation can occur before the release of the tendon origin. Additionally, they may offer a simpler and more cost-effective alternative to prevailing arthroscopic methods.