Welcome to the PatientPlus decision aid

How can this decision aid help you?

People do well with either operative or nonoperative treatment of a rupture of the biceps tendon at the elbow. The biceps is a long thin muscle in the front of your upper arm that turns your palm up (called supination). The big muscle that bends your elbow is the brachialis. When the biceps ruptures, the brachialis still works. You’ll be able to bend your elbow as strong as the other one even if you choose not to repair the biceps. People only choose surgery to repair the biceps when they want to be able to turn their palm up with a lot of strength. Otherwise, people leave the tendon unrepaired.

This decision aid provides you with the harms and benefits of each treatment. If you’re unsure, your doctor can help you choose the best treatment for you.

At the end you can print this decision aid. This way you can go over it again and discuss everything with people you trust.


This decision aid is written by:

Martin Haan, Teun Teunis, David Ring

Version @TEXT(version, 1;)@ 05-02-17.

All authors indicated to have no conflict of interests associated with this decision aid. Completed ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms of all authors and PatientPlus employees are on file and can be viewed on request.