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Intra-articular variations of the long head of the biceps tendon

  • Shoulder
  • Published:
Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

The long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) generally runs free through its course in the glenohumeral joint. It can rarely be seen as attached to the joint capsule or the rotator cuff in different patterns. Although these variations are usually considered harmless in the literature, they may occur in conjunction with the labral pathologies. This study was designed to determine their prevalence and investigate their relationship with intra-articular pathologies encountered during arthroscopy.

Methods

Out of a patient population of 671 arthroscopies performed in one center, the data regarding the LHBT variations and labral pathologies were collected retrospectively.

Results

Fifty patients (7.4%) of this total population were included as possible LHBT variants. Categorized into seven groups ranging from the simple vinculum, cord, and pulley types to the synovial tunnel types partially or totally fused to the capsule and to more complex types adherent to the capsule or the rotator cuff, their association with the labral pathologies was analyzed. The labral pathology prevalence was significantly higher in this group of 50 patients with LHBT variants compared to the total population (32 vs. 13%; P < 0.001). In the pulley-type variant group, the labral pathologies were also encountered at a significantly higher rate than the total population (62.5%; P = 0.026).

Conclusion

The prevalence of embryological variations of the biceps tendon may be higher than common presumptions, and a particular type of these variants displays an increased association with labral pathologies.

Level of evidence

Prognostic study, Level II (retrospective study).

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Nermin Ozturk for her illustrations of the biceps variations.

Conflict of interest

We hereby state that all ethical, legal and patient rights wise considerations were fulfilled during and after this study. We report no possible conflicts of interest with any institutions or companies and also no outside funding or grants. None of the authors or any member of their family received from a commercial entity anything of value related in any way to this manuscript. No review board approval was required for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Gazi University Hospital, Ankara, 06510, Turkey

    Ulunay Kanatli, Burak Yagmur Ozturk, Erdinc Esen & Selcuk Bolukbasi

Authors
  1. Ulunay Kanatli
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  2. Burak Yagmur Ozturk
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  3. Erdinc Esen
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  4. Selcuk Bolukbasi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ulunay Kanatli.

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Kanatli, U., Ozturk, B.Y., Esen, E. et al. Intra-articular variations of the long head of the biceps tendon. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 19, 1576–1581 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-010-1384-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-010-1384-x

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