Can anyone tell me, in explicit, gory detail, exactly what happens in tennis elbow surgery? Video of an actual surgery would be awesome. Even pictures would be good.
For some reason, I can’t find anything but textbook type drawings.
My doctor briefly explained it to me when he was telling me I should get it. I’m not seeing him again until after Workman’s Comp approves the surgery and I am really curious.
One other question:
My counterforce brace has left a dent in my arm. Will it ever go away?
You have entered a can of worms the Pedant has opened on himself, being a fellow sufferer.
Tennis elbow–aka epicondylitis (and most typically, lateral epicondylitis) is misnamed (“-itis” means “inflammation” and no one has show that) and poorly understood. Epicondylar tendinosis is probably more accurate, but it’s too late now. Treatment (as you have learned) varies from rest to stretching and strengthening, to elbow pressure devices to steroid injections to surgery. Because the cause–and particularly the cause of the pain–is not understood, the surgical approach varies. You should be able to find some good photographs of various surgical techniques.
I personally opted for an injection of buffered platelet-rich plasma, which cured me (so far; 6 months) after 3 years of fairly significant pain. The surgeon who did the procedure for me also gets excellent results with surgical management.
It is possible (one of many theories) that surgery works because it messes with the tissues in such a way that hormonal factors are released which promote healing. I am not saying this is the case, but it’s the reason I opted to try buffered platelet-enriched plasma first (the concentrate of blood with the platelets in it contains lots of various tissue factors). Here are a couple of links if you are interested:
Anyway, among my disorganized points is the take-away that, while surgery is likely to be successful, the video you find may not be your surgeon’s exact approach–this varies from surgeon to surgeon because the underlying pathogenesis is so poorly understood.