Exclusive Posterolateral Arthroscopic and Endoscopic Approaches Used in the Treatment of Lateral Epicondylitis

Complications following arthroscopy of the elbow for the treatment of later-alepicondylitis are essentially related to the anterior arthroscopic approach. The principal aims of this study were to describe and evaluate the mixed arthroscopic and endoscopic surgical technique using posterolateral approaches exclusively. This was a retrospective study of consecutive patients operate don between 2005 and 2014 for lateral epicondylitis following more than 6 months of ineffective medical treatment. The exploration was arthroscopic via a distal posterolateral portal. The extensor carpi radialis brevis was disinserted via a proximal extra-articular posterolateral endoscopic portal. The postoperative clinical follow-up included subjective (visual analog scale, Nirschl) and objective (Mayo Clinic Elbow Performance Score) evaluations of pain, the time to return to work, the level of satisfaction, complications, and failures. Thirty-seven patients underwent the procedure, including 3 lost to follow-up. Mean +/- SD follow-up was 32.8 +/- 24.7 months. Mean +/- SD visual analog scalescores were 0.8 +/- 0.8 at rest, 2.4 +/- 1.3 during everyday activities, and 3.1 +/- 1.5 during effort. Mean +/- SD Mayo Clinic Elbow Evaluation Score was 10.1 +/- 1.0 of 12 and mean +/- SD Mayo Clinic Elbow Performance Score was 91.9 +/- 12.5 of 100. Mean +/- SD Nirschl score was 67.5 +/- 9.6 of 80. Mean +/- SD time to return to work was 2.0 +/- 2.6 months. The level of satisfaction was 94.1%. The failure rate was 2.9%, with no neurological lesions. With equivalent or even better results than those already published, this surgical procedure enables the treatment of lateral epicondylitis via posterolateral portals alone, thus avoiding the complications inherent to anterior and medial arthroscopic approaches.