trends related to the treatment of superior labral tears at a single institution

Background: as preferred treatment options for superior labral tears continue to evolve, this study aims to describe the recent longitudinal trends in the treatment of slap tears in a sub-specialized practice at a single institution. we hypothesized that there was a trend toward biceps tenodesis over repair for type ii slap lesions. methods: a retrospective review was performed using an institutional billing database to identify all patients with a slap tear who underwent surgical intervention between january 2002 and january 2016. procedural codes associated with the surgery were analyzed to determine type of treatment each patient received. results: of the 6,055 patients who underwent surgery for a slap tear during the study period, 39.1% (2,370) underwent labral repair, 15.4% (930) underwent tenodesis without repair, and 45.5% (2,755) underwent arthroscopy without tenodesis or repair. labral repair made up a significantly higher proportion of surgical interventions in 2002 (82.2%) compared to in 2015 (21.8%; p<0.001). surgeon experience did not impact trends. over the study period, the mean age of patients receiving labral repair decreased from 40.4 years (range: 16.2 – 63.9) to 32.6 years (range: 14.0 – 64.7; p<0.001). conclusion: this study demonstrates that over the 14-year study period the rate of labral repairs for slap tears has decreased significantly and that these repairs have been directed towards a younger patient population.