Presenter notes open tennis elbow release simple compared with arthroscopy

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Compared with arthroscopic tennis elbow release, open tennis elbow release proved to be an easier and faster procedure, according to a presenter here.

“An open tennis elbow release is a simple and easy procedure,” Leesa M. Galatz, MD, said in her presentation. “You can do this through a small incision. If you make some flaps and you take Senn retractors, you can move this incision anywhere you need it to meet.”

Galatz noted open tennis elbow release is about a 15-minute operation with easy anesthesia and limited equipment, including a tourniquet, knife, pick ups, Bovie and Senn retractors. She also noted patients do not need to be placed in a prone or lateral position.

Leesa M. Galatz

In comparison, she noted arthroscopic tennis elbow release should be performed by an experienced surgeon. The procedure has a range of minor and major complications compared with open release, and Galatz noted several studies showed complication risks ranging from 1.6% to 16.7%.

“An arthroscopic tennis elbow release ranges about a 4 [for relative complexity] in terms of all the procedures you can do, and complications do correlate to that. But you do see things like draining portals, [so] why would you want to risk it compared to a procedure that has an almost zero rate of complications?” Galatz said. – by Casey Tingle

Reference:

Galatz LM. Tennis elbow surgery debate: Open is best. Presented at: Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2016; Jan. 10-14, 2016; Waikoloa, Hawaii.

Disclosure: Galatz receives research support from the National Institute of Health and is an associate editor for basic science for the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.