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Arthroscopic and open releases effective for tennis elbow
Norwegian researchers found similar outcomes when they compared results of open and arthroscopic tendon releases in patients with tennis elbow.
“Both a traditional open approach and the newer arthroscopic method provide an effective treatment of recalcitrant [tennis elbow] without major complications,” Eirik Solheim, MD, PhD, and colleagues wrote in the study abstract. “The arthroscopic method offers a small, but not insignificant, improvement in the outcome as evaluated by the QuickDASH score,” they stated.
Solheim and colleagues compared 80 patients who underwent open tendon release to patients who underwent an arthroscopic release of the extensor carpi radialis brevis, according to the abstract. They reported no significant differences in the two groups for gender distribution, age, symptom duration, or which side was affected. Additionally, Solheim and colleagues found no significant difference between treatment groups for the baseline QuickDASH scores.
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At follow-up, QuickDASH scores in the arthroscopy group were higher than the open release group, according to the abstract. The investigators reported 78% of elbows were excellent after treatment based on QuickDASH score and 67% of patients in the open group had excellent at the same follow-up.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.