Arthroscopy in the treatment of refractory lateral epicondylitis

Abstract:

Objective：To evaluate the clinical efficacy of arthroscopy in the treatment of refractory lateral humeral epicondylitis. Methods：From January 2009 to December 2010，arthroscopic surgery was performed in 20 cases of humeral epicondylitis which was ineffective by conservative treatment. Postoperative visual analogue scale（VAS） was used to evaluate the elbow improvement. Results：All patients accepted 6 to 21 months follow-up，with an average of 13 months. VAS pain score evaluation was conducted and preop－erative and postoperative results were compared with statistically significant differences（P＜0.001）. Conclusion：With the advantages of minimally invasiveness and quick recovery，arthroscopy is effective in the treatment of refractory lateral humeral epicondylitis be－cause it can directly deal with lesions and intra-articular lesions simultaneously.