Elbow arthroscopy in the pediatric and adolescent population

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to show the diagnostic and therapeut ic benefits of elbow arthroscopy in athletically active pediatric patients. We describe our techniques for elbow arthroscopy in young patients. Type o f Study: Case series of 47 patients. Methods: We reviewed 49 cases of elbow arthroscopies performed in 47 pediatric and adolescent patients retrospect ively over a 16-year period. Charts were reviewed to identify the age of pa tients at the time of surgery, side involved, hand dominance, diagnosis, co mplications, the primary sport involved, and the average volume of loose bo dies if surgical removal was performed. Each patient was contacted after a minimum of 2 years after surgery and a modified Andrews elbow scoring syste m was used to rate elbow function. Results: The average age of this group w as 14.0 years (range, 3.5 to 17.0 years) with an average follow-up of 4.7 y ears. Elbow arthroscopy was performed for osteochondritis dissecans (58%), arthrofibrosis and joint contracture (20%), synovitis (10%), acute trauma ( 10%), and posterior olecranon impingement syndrome (5%). Based on a modifie d Andrews elbow scoring system, 85% of patients had good or excellent resul t with 90% of the children returning to sports without limitation. No patie nt experienced nerve injury, infection, or loss of elbow motion as a postop erative complication. Conclusions: This series shows that elbow arthroscopy has a safe and effective role in the treatment of selective elbow patholog ies in the pediatric and adolescent population when performed by experience d small joint arthroscopists.