Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2019 Aug 29:2019:3472729.
doi: 10.1155/2019/3472729. eCollection 2019.

Traumatic Closed Proximal Muscle Rupture of the Biceps Brachii in Military Paratrooper

Georgios Kalinterakis  1 , Emmanouil Antonogiannakis  1 , Ioannis Rampakakis  1 , Evangelos Tsialogiannis  1 , Athanasios Syllaios  2 , Miltiadis Ziogas  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Traumatic Closed Proximal Muscle Rupture of the Biceps Brachii in Military Paratrooper

Georgios Kalinterakis et al. Case Rep Orthop. .

Abstract

Traumatic closed proximal muscle rupture of the biceps brachii has been infrequently cited in the medical bibliography. Early reports of this injury derived from US military during parachute jumps, and it may compromise >4% of injuries at altitude. The mechanism is a direct blow to the upper extremity by static lines. We report a case of traumatic closed proximal rupture of the biceps brachii in a healthy 25 years of age military paratrooper. He was managed with primary surgical repair, and after three years of follow-up, the patient has excellent functional results.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Acute biceps rupture in a military parachutist. Popeye deformity is noted.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a, b) MRI images showing an intrasubstance tear of the biceps brachii (arrows) with a large hematoma filling the defect.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Intraoperative photograph showing the intramuscular biceps tear (yellow arrows).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Locking intramuscular sutures secure both the proximal and distal muscle segments (MS).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Postoperative images three years after the surgery.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Heckman J. D., Levine M. I. Traumatic closed transection of the biceps brachii in the military parachutist. The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. 1978;60(3):369–372. doi: 10.2106/00004623-197860030-00019. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bricknell M. C. M., Craig S. C. Military parachuting injuries: a literature review. Occupational Medicine. 1999;49(1):17–26. doi: 10.1093/occmed/49.1.17. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Craig S. C., Lee T. Attention to detail: injuries at altitude among U.S. Army Military static line parachutists. Military Medicine. 2000;165(4):268–271. doi: 10.1093/milmed/165.4.268. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wilson D. J., Parada S. A., Slevin J. M., Arrington E. D. Intrasubstance ruptures of the biceps brachii: diagnosis and management. Orthopedics. 2011;34(11):890–896. doi: 10.3928/01477447-20110922-25. - DOI - PubMed
    1. US Army. FM 3-21.220 Static Line Parachuting Techniques and Tactics: Training Handbook On Parachute Jumping, Jumpmaster, Drop Zone, Airborne Operations, Military Team, Aircraft, and Combat Equipment Loads. Washington: Field Manual Reference Guide; 2003. Chapter 3.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources