Disorders of the long head of the biceps: tenotomy versus tenodesis

Disorders of the long head of biceps tendon are common in clinical practice. Their causes could be degenerative, inflammatory, instability (subluxation or luxation) or traumatic. They are generally associated to other diseases of the shoulder, mainly rotator cuff injuries. Currently, there is controversy in the literature regarding the indications for surgical treatment and the choice of the best technique for each case, due to the possibility of esthetic deformity, loss of muscle strength, and residual pain. The objective of this study was to identify the indications for surgical treatment, the best surgical technique, and the advantages and disadvantages of each technique described in the orthopedic literature for the treatment of long head of biceps tendon injuries. A revision of the orthopedic medical literature on the following databases: Biblioteca Regional de Medicina (BIREME), Medline, PubMed, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar, comprising articles published in the period from 1991 to 2015.