Open tennis elbow release surgery (in chronic case)

Abstract

Objective: To assess the results of open tennis elbow surgery in patients whom the elbow had failure after conservative treatment. Material and Method: Retrospective analysis of 22 patients underwent tennis elbow surgery at the HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical center during the period from January 2003 to December 2010. Age, sex, duration of symptom, pain score and complications were included in analysis. Patients were asked to rate their pain on a 0-10 visual analogue pain scale (VAS). Grip strength of both hands was measured with a digital hand dynamometer. Measurements were made with the elbow fully extended and the average of two measurements was recorded as the strength. Results: The mean visual analogue pain score at one month fell from 6.7 (5.0-8.6) to 2.1 (1.0-3.4) (p < 0.05). When the grip strengths were measured, the increases that occurred at one month, two months and six months postoperative were significant (p < 0.05). One superficial wound infection was found which responded to oral antibiotics. Conclusion: The release of tennis elbow (failure after conservative treatment) is an effective procedure with low rate of complications.