Arthroscopic Treatment for Elbow Trauma: Learning Curve and Outcomes.

Abstract

Arthroscopic treatment of elbow trauma has advantages such as the enhanced view of the elbow, including joint surfaces and soft tissue. Arthroscopy provides an accurate evaluation of chondral lesions and osteochondral loose fragments. A clear advantage is the minimally invasive nature of arthroscopy, decreasing soft tissue injury compared to open techniques. There are several challenges such as patient positioning, soft tissue status, and hemarthrosis. Arthroscopic-assisted treatment of trauma is performed safely earlier in the learning curve, but published literature has shown that the arthroscopic treatment of trauma has an additional learning curve, to obtain improved results even for expert surgeons.