A Comprehensive Literature Review of Surgical Management Techniques for Medial Epicondylitis

Abstract

Medial epicondylitis, commonly referred to as golfer's elbow, is a condition primarily caused by the degeneration of the common flexor tendons' origin. The clinical presentation is mainly characterized by persistent elbow pain. Treatment options range from nonoperative measures to operative interventions. Surgical options become a consideration when symptoms persist for more than 6 months. In this literature review, a computer-assisted literature search has been conducted by the authors, looking into the databases of MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, ProQuest, OvidSP, and Scopus. Based on that, 14 articles were selected and reviewed. Selected articles were those that reported outcomes of medial epicondylitis solely; the outcomes were assessed as each article separately; then, articles were collected based on the surgical techniques, and the mean values were estimated for success rates. The literature supports that surgical management for persistent medial epicondylitis is successful because it has a success rate ranging from 82.5% to 94.8% regardless of the technique used. Patients experienced improved symptoms and minimal complications, whereas minimally invasive procedures reported lower incidences of postoperative hematomas and ulnar neuropathy. Undergoing a surgical treatment leads to improvements in patients' symptoms. The choice of surgical procedure, however, should be individualized to ensure a balance between complications and coexisting pathologies.