Epicondilitis lateralresultados del tratamiento quirúrgico con la técnica de Nirschl

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Analyze the results obtained in patients who underwent surgery for epicondylitis using the technique described by Nirschl, between June 2003 and May 2009 at the Infanta Elena Hospital in Huelva. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study of 22 patients diagnosed with epicondylitis between June 2003 and May 2009 at the Infanta Elena Hospital in Huelva. When assessing the results, the following aspects were analyzed: the pre and postoperative development of pain, pre and postoperative joint balance, the return to their work or sports, the existence of complications and the Mayo Clinic Functional Elbow Index RESULTS: 22 patients diagnosed with epicondylitis were selected—17 females and 5 males. !e average age was 50.6 years (range 32-60 years). In all the cases, the medical treatment failed after a minimum of 6 months. When analyzing the "nal results independently based on gender, evolution of the disease, number of infiltrations or histological confirmation of abnormal tissue, no significant di#erences were found. Upon analyzing all the information from the Mayo Clinic Functional Elbow Index, we found that the pre-surgery evaluation revealed that in 63.6% of the patients, the functional level was medium and in 36.4% it was poor. On the contrary, the post-surgery function in 83% of the patients (18 patients) was excellent and in 17% of the patients (4 patients), it was good. CONCLUSION: Lateral epicondylitis requires medical intervention as an initial treatment, surgery being suggested in those patients (<20%) who fail to respond to conservative treatment at least six (6) months. In the analysis of our 22 cases, in which we obtained good and excellent results in all the cases, the Nirschl surgical technique is endorsed as a magnificent treatment.