SPABiT: Suprapectoral Arthroscopic Biceps Tenodesis. Studio biomeccanico di una nuova tecnica di tenodesi del capo lungo del bicipite.

The SPABiT is a new technique for tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon, born in a vast panorama of techniques who have shown a whole series of complication both as regards the position of tenodesis, the types of devices used and the choice to perform the technique in open surgery or arthroscopy. A new technique has been proposed to reduce the risk of occurrence of above-mentioned complications. The objective of this study was to determine the mechanical strength of the new technique and to compare it with that of interference screw technique. METHODS Twenty-one human humerus and proximal biceps were tested following tenodesis, performed according to the technique to be investigated. The strength and stiffness of the two different constructs was determined following cyclical loading (500 cycles) ranging from 20 up to 100N. RESULTS No significant difference was found in stiffness between the two techniques (SPABiT 82à,±27 N/mm, interference screw 76à,±18 N/mm). The ultimate strength was 238à,±96 N and 172à,±58 N for the SPABiT and the interference technique, respectively (Mann-Whitney p=0.14). In four cases (2 SPABiT and 2 interference screw fixations) failure occurred at low load level due to inaccuracies in performing tenodesis. Considering these four cases as outliers, the strength values increased up to 290à,±40 N and 202à,±32 N (Mann-Whitney p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS The SPABiT could be an interesting alternative for arthroscopic suprapectoral biceps tenodesis since it can provide comparable or even higher mechanical strength than that measured for the interference screw technique.