title: Surgical treatment of lateral epicondylitis: a systematic review.
abstract: For the minority of people with lateral epicondylitis who do not respond to nonoperative treatment, surgical intervention is an option, but confusion exists because of the plethora of options. The surgical techniques for treating lateral epicondylitis can be grouped into three main categories: open, percutaneous, and arthroscopic. Our primary question was whether there was clear evidence suggesting one of these three approaches was superior in relieving pain, restoring strength, or reducing time to return to work. A 2002 Cochrane Collaboration Database review found no conclusions could be drawn regarding the efficacy of operative treatment given the lack of controlled trials. Although there is not enough literature to conduct a meta-analysis, we systematically reviewed the available literature to address our questions. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to each procedure, no technique appears superior by any measure. Therefore, until more randomized, controlled trials are done, it is reasonable to defer to individual surgeons regarding experience and ease of procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Division of Sports Medicine, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Marvin Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Lo
authors.forename: Marc R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Safran
mesh_terms: D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019060:Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures; D009132:Muscles / Q000601:surgery; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018582:Sick Leave / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*