Increased Risk of Humeral Fracture With Open Versus Arthroscopic Tenodesis of the Long Head of the Biceps Brachii

Purpose To determine the risk of postoperative humeral fracture following tenotomy, open tenodesis and arthroscopic tenodesis of the long head of the biceps brachii. Methods A retrospective review of deidentified patient data from the Medicare Standard Analytic File using the PearlDiver software was conducted to identify procedures performed between 2005 and 2014. Groups were matched by age, gender, region, and medical comorbidities. Results We evaluated 157,163 patients who had undergone arthroscopic or open tenodesis or tenotomy of the long head of the biceps brachii over a 10‐year period (2005‐2014), and we identified 2,196 postoperative humeral fractures (1.4%). Matched subgroup analysis consisting of 44,292 patients demonstrated a statistically significant increase in humeral fracture risk in open (280; 1.26%) compared to arthroscopic tenodesis (232; 1.04%) with a P value of 0.03 and an odds ratio of 1.21. The majority of fractures were sustained by patients 65‐74 years of age. Conclusion In this study, an increased risk of postoperative humeral fracture was associated with open tenodesis of the LHB. Level of Evidence III, Retrospective Comparative Trial.