Tennis elbow surgery

Definition

Tennis elbow is caused by doing the same repetitive and forceful arm movements many times. It creates small, painful tears in the tendons in your elbow.

This injury can be caused by tennis, other racquet sports, and activities such as turning a wrench, prolonged typing, or chopping with a knife. The outside (lateral) elbow tendons are most commonly injured. The inside (medial) and backside (posterior) tendons can also be affected, but usually with different activities. The condition can be worsened if the tendons are further injured by trauma to the tendons.

This article discusses surgery to repair tennis elbow.

Alternative Names

Lateral epicondylitis - surgery; Lateral tendinosis - surgery; Lateral tennis elbow - surgery

Description

Surgery to repair tennis elbow is often an outpatient surgery. This means you will not stay in the hospital overnight.

You will be given medicine (sedative) to help you relax and make you sleepy. Numbing medicine (anesthesia) is given in your arm. This blocks pain during your surgery.

You may be awake or asleep with general anesthesia during the surgery.

If you have open surgery, your surgeon will make one cut (incision) over your injured tendon. The unhealthy part of the tendon is scraped away. The surgeon may repair the tendon using something called a suture anchor. Or, it may be stitched to other tendons. When the surgery is over, the cut is closed with stitches.

Sometimes, tennis elbow surgery is done using an arthroscope. This is a thin tube with a tiny camera and light on the end. Before surgery, you will get the same medicines as in open surgery to make you relax and to block pain.

The surgeon makes 1 or 2 small cuts, and inserts the scope. The scope is attached to a video monitor. This helps your surgeon see inside the elbow area. The surgeon scrapes away the unhealthy part of the tendon.

Why the Procedure Is Performed

You may need to have surgery if you:

Treatments you should try first include:

Risks

Risks of anesthesia and surgery in general are:

Risks of tennis elbow surgery are:

Before the Procedure

You should:

After the Procedure

After the surgery:

Outlook (Prognosis)

Tennis elbow surgery relieves pain for most people. Many people are able to return to sports and other activities that use the elbow within 4 to 6 months. Keeping up with recommended exercise helps ensure the problem will not return.

References

Adams JE, Steinmann SP. Elbow tendinopathies and tendon ruptures. In: Wolfe SW, Pederson WC, Kozin SH, Cohen MS, eds. Green's Operative Hand Surgery. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2022:chap 25.

Wolf JM. Elbow tendinopathies and bursitis. In: Miller MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee, Drez, & Miller's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 61.



Review Date: 12/12/2022
Reviewed By: C. Benjamin Ma, MD, Professor, Chief, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Service, UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, San Francisco, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
© 1997- adam.comAll rights reserved.
A.D.A.M. content is best viewed in IE9 or above, Firefox and Google Chrome browser.