Anterior Surgical Repair of Distal Ruptures of the Brachial Biceps Tendon

Purpose Distal ruptures of the brachial biceps tendon are an infrequent injury. The purpose of this paper is to assess the outcome of distal ruptures of the tendon addressed surgically through an anterior approach between November 1998 and December 2003. Materials and methods Retrospective study of 12 patients and 13 injuries with a mean follow-up of 37 months (range: 12-60). Mean age was 37.6 years and all patients were male. All injuries were located in the dominant arm, except for one case in which the rupture was bilateral. All were operated with an anterior approach. In ten injuries (76.9%) harpoon sutures were used, in two (15.4%) bone tunnels and in one instance (7.7%) an endobutton anchor. All patients but one were immobilized with a brachioantebrachial plaster splint during the first two weeks post-op. In five patients, this immobilization was continued, whereas in four it was replaced by an articulated brace. Results Range of movement, strength, pain and personal satisfaction were the parameters assessed. All patients had full mobility. Eleven patients (91.6%) recovered their full strength. As far as complications are concerned, we had a transient radial nerve palsy. Personal satisfaction was excellent in eleven patients (91.6%) and good in one (8.4%). There was no re-rupture. Conclusions Our clinical and functional results are excellent, for which reason we recommend harpoon suturing with an anterior approach.