Tennis elbow--outcome following the Garden procedure: a retrospective study.

PURPOSE From 1993 to 1999, 17 patients (18 elbows) underwent the Garden procedure for clinically diagnosed tennis elbow. Non-operative treatment was ineffective for these patients. METHODS The study group consisted of 10 men and 7 women, with a mean age of 49.6 years. Follow-up duration ranged from 18 months to 6 years, with a mean of 37 months. Patients' pain, activity level, and hand grip strength were evaluated postoperatively. RESULTS 14 (77.8%) elbows had an excellent or good result, 2 elbows had a fair result, and another 2 elbows had a poor result and required revision surgery. Most patients had immediate relief of elbow pain, returned to work early, and did not notice any weakness of hand grip strength or radial wrist extension. There were no significant complications. CONCLUSION The Garden procedure produced good results for tennis elbow with minimal morbidity in an unselected group of patients. This retrospective study supports the view that the underlying lesion in tennis elbow is in the origin of extensor carpi radialis brevis.