The Clinical Evaluation Of Arthroscopic Release In The Treatment Of Non-traumatic Elbow Stiffness

Background and objective:Elbow stiffness means that the elbow flexion is less than 100°or the elbow extension is more than 30 °caused by various reasons.Patients have symptoms such as pain in the elbow joint and limited movement,which will seriously reduce the quality of life of the patients.Arthroscopic surgery is more suitable for the surgical treatment of elbow ankylosis because of its advantages of less trauma and rapid recovery.However,the current clinical studies are mostly focused on the arthroscopic treatment of traumatic elbow ankylosis.There are few studies on the efficacy of arthroscopy in the treatment of rare non-traumatic elbow joint stiffness.The purpose of this study is to explore the clinical efficacy of arthroscopic release in the treatment of non-traumatic elbow ankylosis.Research methods:We retrospectively analyzed the data of 24 patients with non-traumatic elbow ankylosis who underwent arthroscopic elbow arthrolysis in our hospital and cooperative hospital from February 2015 to September 2019.There were 16 males and8 females,with an average age of 39 years(18-56 years),4 cases of left elbow and 20 cases of right elbow.the time of elbow ankylosis was between 6 and 120 months.After excluding the surgical taboos,arthroscopic elbow joint release and debridement were performed,and postoperative analgesia,detumescence and regular rehabilitation training were given.At the last follow-up,the curative effect was evaluated by the changes of elbow range of motion(ROM),Mayo elbow performance score(MEPS score),pain visual analogue score(VAS score)and patient satisfaction.Research results:All 24 patients were followed up after operation,The average follow-up time was6 months.The elbow extension function increased from 25.5°±16.3°before operation to 14.5°±11.4°at postoperative follow-up(P < 0.05);the elbow flexion function of the patients increased from 90.2°±20.6°before operation to 118.5 °±18.9°at postoperativefollow-up(P < 0.05);the range of motion((ROM))of elbow joint increased from57.0°±26.3°before operation to 108.5°±20.4°after operation(P < 0.05);the MEPS score of elbow joint increased from 60.5 ±17.9 before operation to 85.0±15.3(60-100)after operation;the VAS score decreased from 1.75 ±1.13 before operation to 0.71±0.35 after operation.In terms of patient satisfaction,21 of the 24 patients achieved satisfactory results,3 patients said that the postoperative effect was not good,and the patient satisfaction rate was 87.5%.Research conclusion:Arthroscopic release in the treatment of non-traumatic elbow ankylosis can significantly improve the function of elbow joint.The overall satisfaction of postoperative patients was higher,and the postoperative complications were less.However,there may be a certain correlation between postoperative patient satisfaction and pathogenic factors.