Interprofessional analysis of esthetical deformity from long head biceps tenotomy

To evaluate the perception of an esthetical deformity resultant from arthroscopic long head biceps (LHB) tenotomy according to the degree of experience of the assisting professional.

120 patients submitted to shoulder surgery were photographed and photos were mounted in a PowerPoint presentation. Three shoulder specialist surgeons, three generalist orthopedic surgeons and three graduated residents analyzed the presentation.

On all patients we observed most agreement among the shoulder specialists. When just the patients with LHB tenotomy were analyzed, the specialists agreed moderately, the generalists had small agreement and the residents, a poor one. Analyzing patients with BMI < 30, there was major agreement between the specialists, while the generalists and residents had poor agreement. Analyzing patients with BMI ≥ 30, the generalists had small kappa agreement, while the specialists and residents had no agreement.

The perception of an esthetical deformity regarding a LHB tenotomy did not have significant agreement between different level of professionals, even though the specialists showed similar perception on tenotomy patients. The evaluation of obese patients lowered the agreement on the three groups of professionals. Level of Evidence III. Case Control Study.