Surgical Treatment of Tennis Elbow; Minimal Incision Technique.

BACKGROUND When non-operative treatment of tennis elbow fails; a surgical procedure can be performed to improve the associated symptoms. Different surgical techniques for treatment of lateral epicondylitis are prescribed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of surgical treatment for tennis elbow based on small incision techniques. METHODS This technique was performed on 24 consecutive patients between June 2011 and July 2013. Outcomes were assessed using the Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE), Nirschl's staging system and visual analog scale (VAS) for pain and satisfaction criteria. RESULTS There were 15 female and 9 male patients in the study. The mean duration of symptoms before surgery was 3.7 years. The average duration of follow-up was 34.8 months. The post-operative outcome was good to excellent in most patients. The mean VAS score improved from 7.2 to 3.5 points. The total PRTEE improved from 68.7 to 15.8 points. CONCLUSION This procedure provides a low complication rate which is associated with a high rate of patient satisfaction. Therefore, we suggest this option after failed conservative management of tennis elbow.