Tennis Elbow (cont.)

Medical Author:

Vikhyat Bebarta, MD

Coauthor:

Christopher Colwell, MD

Medical Editor:

Scott H Plantz, MD, FAAEM

Medical Editor:

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD

Medical Editor:

James Ungar, MD

Surgery is usually a last resort but is successful in relieving pain in 85-95% of people.
Surgery involves a small incision over the elbow to trim the tendon or sometimes to release and then reattach the tendon to the bone. It can usually be performed in an outpatient procedure taking several hours.
Candidates for surgery are usually those who have had symptoms for more than 6-12 months despite nonsurgical therapies.
Several months of rehabilitation at home in working with a physical therapist are required and begin about 6 weeks after surgery.
As with any surgery, there are risks, which you should talk about with your doctor.