ReviewArthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation2021
Tenotomy or Tenodesis for Tendinopathy of the Long Head of the Biceps Brachii: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Review in Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clinical effectiveness of tenotomy versus tenodesis for long head of biceps pathology: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Loop versus anchor tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon: a prospective randomized controlled pilot study.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2026Trial
- Article
- The Popeye sign: beyond the bulge-a proposal for a standardized definition and classification.Clinics in shoulder and elbow · 2026Article
- Biceps Tendon Rupture: Contemporary Evidence, Evolving Techniques, and a Mechanics-to-Management Clinical Framework.Cureus · 2025Review
- Red Staining of the LHB and the Rotator Interval on Arthroscopy-A Valid Indicator of Symptomatic Inflammation? A Machine Learning Assisted Investigation.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2025Article
- The impact of biceps tenotomy/tenodesis on Popeye sign incidence and functional outcome.JSES international · 2025Article
- Factors affecting healing of rotator cuff repairs: microfracture of the greater tuberosity.Clinics in shoulder and elbow · 2024Article
- Biceps tenotomy vs. tenodesis: an ACS-NSQIP analysis of postoperative outcomes and utilization trends.JSES international · 2024Article
- Open Biceps Tenodesis and Tenotomy Have Low 30-Day Postoperative Complication Rates.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Return to Sports and Clinical Results After All-Arthroscopic Biceps Tenodesis Using a 2.7-mm Knotless PEEK Suture Anchor.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- Cost-Effective, Implant-Free, All-Suture Modified Subpectoral Biceps Tenodesis Technique.Arthroscopy techniques · 2024Article
- One-Step Release Technique for Tendon Extraction During Biceps Tenodesis.Arthroscopy techniques · 2024Article
- Modified arthroscopic intra-articular transtendinous looped biceps tenodesis leads to satisfactory functional outcomes and less frequent Popeye deformity compared to biceps tenotomy.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2023Article
- The long head of biceps at the shoulder: a scoping review.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Biceps Tenodesis Better Improves the Shoulder Function Compared with Tenotomy for Long Head of the Biceps Tendon Lesions: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Outcomes of Biceps Tenotomy Versus Tenodesis During Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: An Analysis of Patients From a Large Multicenter Database.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2022Article
- Management of proximal biceps tendon pathology.World journal of orthopedics · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe purpose of this meta-analysis was to provide an up-to-date comparison of clinical outcomes of tenotomy and tenodesis in the surgical treatment of long head of the biceps brachii (LHB) tendinopathy.
methodsA literature search was conducted in EMBASE, Pubmed/Medline and the Cochrane database from January 2000 to May 2020. All studies comparing clinical outcomes between LHB tenotomy and tenodesis were included. Quality was assessed using the Coleman score.
resultsWe included 25 studies (8 randomized studies) comprising 2,191 patients undergoing LHB tenotomy or tenodesis, with or without concomitant shoulder procedures (mainly rotator cuff repairs). The Coleman score ranged from 29 to 97 for all studies. When comparing tenodesis and tenotomy in randomized studies, no clinically relevant differences were found in the Constant score (mean difference, 0.9 points), the American Shoulder and Elbow Society Score (mean difference, 1.1 points), shoulder pain (mean difference in visual analogue scale, -0.3 points), elbow flexion strength loss (mean difference, 0%), or forearm supination strength (mean difference, 3%). A Popeye deformity (odds ratio, 0.32) was less commonly seen in patients treated with tenodesis (9% vs 23%).
conclusionIn our meta-analysis, a Popeye deformity was more frequently observed in patients treated with tenotomy. Based on a substantial number of studies, there is no evidence-based benefit of LHB tenodesis over tenotomy in terms of shoulder function, shoulder pain or biceps-related strength. It is unclear whether LHB tenodesis is of benefit in specific patient groups such as younger individuals. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, systematic review of level III or higher studies.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.