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Elbow Arthroscopic Debridement

What Is It?

Elbow arthroscopy is a minimally invasive procedure to inspect, diagnose and repair problems inside the elbow joint. Debridement is a procedure for treating a wound. It involves thoroughly cleaning the wound and removing all hyperkeratotic (thickened skin or callus), infected, and nonviable (necrotic or dead) tissue, foreign debris, and residual material.

Anatomy
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The elbow is made up of the humerus (upper arm bone), the ulna (the large forearm bone) and the radius (the small forearm bone). Two main ligaments—the ulnar collateral ligament and the lateral collateral ligament—hold the bones of the elbow together. Muscles and tendons support the joint and allow the bending and straightening of the arm.

‍Indications for Elbow Arthroscopy

Elbow arthroscopy may be recommended if a painful condition does not respond to nonsurgical treatment. Nonsurgical treatment includes rest, physical therapy, and medications or injections that can reduce inflammation. Injury, overuse, and age-related wear and tear are responsible for most elbow problems. Elbow arthroscopy may relieve painful symptoms of many problems that damage the cartilage surfaces and other soft tissues surrounding the joint. It may also be recommended to remove loose pieces of bone and cartilage, or release scar tissue that is blocking motion.

Common arthroscopic procedures include:

Treatment of tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis)

Removal of loose bodies (loose cartilage and bone fragments)

Release of scar tissue to improve range of motion

Treatment of osteoarthritis (wear and tear arthritis)

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (inflammatory arthritis)

Treatment of osteochondritis dissecans (activity related damage to the capitellum portion of the humerus seen in throwers or gymnasts)

Procedure

During this outpatient procedure, the surgeon examines the inside of the elbow joint with a camera called an arthroscope. They then identify and correct problems with the bones, ligaments and tendons of the elbow. Because the arthroscope and surgical instruments are thin, surgeons can use very small incisions, rather than the larger incision needed for open surgery. This results in less pain for patients, less joint stiffness, and often shortens the time it takes to recover and return to favorite activities.

Postoperative Care and Recovery

Although recovery from arthroscopy is often faster than recovery from open surgery, it may still take weeks for an elbow joint to completely recover. It is typically recommended to ice and elevate an elbow regularly for 48 hours after surgery. This will reduce the risk of severe swelling and help to relieve pain. Depending on the type of surgery performed, the doctor may have specific instructions for longer periods of ice and elevation. Pain medication may also be recommended. Dressing care is contingent on the type of surgery performed. Patients typically begin physical therapy soon after surgery to stretch and restore strength and range of motion. Most return to light work within several days. If heavy lifting or throwing is required a patient may be out for several weeks. Full recovery and return to pre-injury athletic activities occur within three to six weeks for loose body removal and two to three months for elbow spur removal.

Advantages

The advantages of arthroscopy compared to open surgery with a large incision include:

Less pain

Fewer complications

Shorter hospital stays

Faster recovery

Risks and complications Risks and complications

Complications of elbow arthroscopy include infection, bleeding, damage to nearby nerves or blood vessels, or delayed healing after the surgery. In certain cases, a stiffness of the elbow joint may occur after the surgery. It is important to participate actively in physical therapy to prevent this from occurring.

Source: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/‍

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Elbow Bursitis Surgery

What is it?

Elbow bursitis surgery is used to treat bursitis caused by infection if less invasive treatments, such as antibiotic treatment and removing fluid from the bursa, have not helped relieve symptoms. Surgery is rarely used for noninfectious bursitis.

Anatomy

Elbow bursitis occurs in the olecranon bursa, a thin, fluid-filled sac that is located at the boney tip of the elbow (the olecranon).

There are many bursae located throughout the body that act as cushions between bones and soft tissues, such as skin. They contain a small amount of lubricating fluid that allows the soft tissues to move freely over the underlying bone.

Normally, the olecranon bursa is flat. If it becomes irritated or inflamed, more fluid will accumulate in the bursa and bursitis will develop. Source: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org

Indications/Symptoms

Swelling is usually the first symptom. In some cases, the swelling flares up quickly. As the swelling gets bigger, it can look like a golf ball at the tip of the elbow.

As the bursa stretches, it can cause pain in the elbow, especially when bent. There is usually no pain when the elbow is extended. But some with elbow bursitis do not feel any pain.

If the bursa becomes infected there may be redness or warmth. In some cases, pus or cloudy fluid can drain from an infected bursa.

Procedure

If elbow bursa is not infected, then rest and pain medicine should reduce symptoms. If infected, antibiotics or draining fluid from the bursa may be necessary. If elbow bursitis is not getting better despite medicine and treatment, surgery is recommended. Depending on severity, the entire bursa may be removed. An overnight stay may be required. The bursa usually grows back normally after several months.

Postoperative Care and Recovery

The incision should heal within two weeks after the surgery with use of the elbow a month or so after. The elbow may need to be padded or protected for several months to prevent injury.

Risks and Complications

As with all surgery, risks and complications can occur, but the risk factors are very low. There will be a considerable empty space left behind where the enlarged bursa once was. This space often fills with blood and fluid after the operation. Additional visits to have fluid drained may be necessary.
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Rotator Cuff Tear Symptoms

The rotator cuff is made up of four muscles (subscapularis, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor). The rotator cuff surrounds the ball and socket joint (glenohumeral joint) and provides stability to the joint as well as movement. Because the shoulder is a shallow joint and the most mobile joint in the body, it requires the rotator cuff for stability. If let untreated tears can lead to arthritis of the shoulder (rotator cuff arthropathy). This doesn’t mean that good function can’t be maintained with a tear. In fact, many people are able to maintain function despite a tear because the shoulder remains balanced with the remaining rotator cuff and other muscles that control shoulder movement.

Muscle inserts into bone via tendon. In the vast majority of cases, when a tear occurs the tendon pulls away from the bone. Broadly speaking, tears are classified as partial or full-thickness. Partial tears go part way through the tendon while full-thickness tears represent complete detachment. Frequently, an MRI will report “partial-tearing.” Since most people over the age of 40 to 50 have some changes within the rotator cuff, partial tears usually not a problem. The distinction with partial tears is when the tears are considered “high-grade,” meaning that they go almost all the way through the tendon.

Causes

Rotator cuff tears may occur after an injury or repetitive activity over time, but most cases occur without an injury. As we age the rotator cuff tendon degenerates and age and genetics are the greatest risk factors for a tear. Studies show that about 50% of people over the age of 65 have a full-thickness rotator cuff tears. Most of these people don’t even know they have a tear!

Treatment

Treatment for rotator cuff tears is based on age, health, and response to conservative treatment. The rotator cuff tendon is not capable of repairing itself. Rather then tear will stay the same size or enlarge over time. In people under the age of 60, the risk of progression is about 50% in a two-year period. The ability to get healing with a surgical repair depends upon age, the tear size, muscle atrophy, associated arthritis, and health (smoking and diabetes for instance). One must also consider timing of repair. Traumatic tears have a better outcome if fixed within 6 months of injury. Additionally, after about six months of symptoms atrophy may occur. Unfortunately, atrophy of the rotator cuff is not considered reversible. Based on this, if someone desires repair, I typically recommend performing this within six months of beginning treatment.

Guidelines for surgery are general and must be individualized as noted above. But, as a general guideline, I recommend repair for all full-thickness tears in people under the age of 60 given the risk of increase in tear size. For people between the ages of 60 and 70, treatment is based on the above factors with health and activity expectations being the most important factors. For people over the age of 70, I nearly always recommend an attempt at conservative treatment. Surgery is then considered if one does not respond to conservative treatment.

For partial tears, conservative treatment should almost always be attempted first since these tears progress slowly or may not progress at all. Then surgery is considered if one does not respond to 4 to 6 months of conservative treatment.

Treatment options include:

Medications:

Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) are used to reduce pain and inflammation. The max does for ibuprofen is 800 mg three times per day. The max does for naproxen is 500 mg twice daily. Prolonged usage should be avoided and these should be taken with food since they can affect the stomach lining. If one experiences an upset stomach these should be stopped.

Injection:

Injection of a steroid (cortisone) may be used to provide pain relief and facilitate physical therapy. I perform these injections with an ultrasound machine. This allows direct visualization of the joint and improved accuracy of the injection. Up to 3 injections over a 2 year period are allowed. Beyond this there are typically diminishing returns and excessive injections may be detrimental to the rotator cuff.

Alternative injections include Toradol (an anti-inflammatory agent similar to ibuprofen), prolotherapy, or platlet-rich plasma (PRP). ). I use Toradol in people who do not tolerate steroids. Prolotherapy involves injecting a substance such as sugar into tissue to “stimulate a healing response.” I do not perform prolotherapy as it has not been shown to improve symptoms in rotator cuff tears. PRP involves taking a small amount of blood from a patient, spinning in a centrifuge to separate the growth factors from the red blood cells, and then injecting the growth factors back into the shoulder to potentially decrease pain. While PRP has anti-inflammatory properties, it has not been shown to heal the rotator cuff. Therefore, it is not covered by insurance and is an out-of-pocket expense. Typically a series of 3 injections are performed at weekly intervals for 3 weeks.

Therapy:

‍Physical therapy with strengthening is one of the mainstays of treatment of rotator cuff tears. Long-term studies show that despite not healing the rotator cuff, therapy can lead to substantial improvements in function with good patient satisfaction. The core exercises in strengthening the rotator cuff are provided at the end of this handout. These exercises can be performed twice per day, 5 days a week.

Surgery:

Most tears, regardless of size can be repaired. I perform all my rotator cuff repairs arthroscopically. This is less invasive and therefore less painful than an open incision. It also allows a better view of the rotator cuff. This procedure requires general anesthesia, takes about 60 to 90 minutes to perform, and patients go home the same day. Small incisions are made in the shoulder, a scope is inserted, and the rotator cuff is repaired with anchors. Anchors are essentially headless screws which are placed flush with the bone. These anchors have sutures that are used to bring the tendon done to the bone so that the tendon can heal to the bone. The long-term outcome of this procedure is very good (>90% success in most cases) and the risk of complication is very low (1/5000 chance of infection). However, repair requires a long recovery period and the tendon takes about 12 weeks to heal into the bone. Therefore, a sling is worn for 6 weeks after surgery. Specific motion exercises afterwards are tailored to the tear pattern (patient-specific). The sling is removed at 6 weeks and motion is progressed. Strengthening is allowed at 12 weeks, followed by gym activities at 4 months. Full recovery takes 6 months for small tears and 12 months for large or massive tears.