Elbow Pain Treatment and Surgery

assignment_indTreatments & Procedures

UR Medicine offers the widest range of treatment options in Upstate New York. In many cases, we can treat your elbow pain with medication, physical therapy, or injection therapies. In other cases, surgery may be required.

UR Medicine surgeons are all fellowship trained and perform more elbow surgeries than those at any other joint center in the region. Studies have shown that advanced education and the experience that comes with performing more surgeries lead to better patient outcomes. As specialists in joint replacements, minimally invasive arthroscopic surgeries, and the treatment of orthopaedic fractures, we can help you return to a life in motion. If elbow pain is interfering with your everyday life, call (585) 275-5321 for a consultation with a UR Medicine joint surgeon.

Severe elbow pain can keep you from doing your job, make everyday activities difficult, and restrict your ability to enjoy sports and hobbies. Repetitive motion may cause tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis), nerve entrapment injury (cubital tunnel syndrome), or golfer's or baseball elbow (medial epicondylitis). A sudden fall may result in elbow instability, with painful clicking, snapping, clucking, or locking of the elbow. In people 50 or older, degeneration of the cartilage and membrane of the joint leads to osteoarthritis.

Our team of elbow replacement surgeons will determine if surgery will put an end to your pain, and how extensive a procedure you need to reach this goal.

Total elbow replacement. This is the right option for people with severe osteoarthritis in an elbow joint. The surgeon removes the damaged bone and cartilage and replaces it with prosthetic parts.

Arthroscopic elbow surgery. In this minimally invasive procedure, the surgeon makes small portal incisions and inserts a tiny camera to find the problem. The surgeon then inserts instruments through the portal to remove debris or make repairs.

 

listPreparing for Surgery

We break down your journey into manageable steps, which we cover in detail in our Shoulder and Elbow Joint Replacement Guidebook and highlight below::

CareSense is an electronic, interactive tool you can use to stay connected with us. You can use it to ask questions whenever you have them and receive a prompt reply. If you haven’t already, just open the email from urmc@caresense.com to register and complete your initial questionnaires.

Identify a support system at home – someone to take you home and stay with you for a few days after surgery. You may also want to consider a private pay aide service for additional help. You are responsible for arranging and providing your own transportation when leaving the hospital. Your ride home from the hospital should be available as early as 8 a.m.

You and your support person are strongly encouraged to download and review together our Total Joint Replacement Education Class presentation to help prepare for surgery.

The presentation materials cover:

  • The joint replacement procedure
  • How to prepare for surgery
  • Anesthesia options
  • Your hospital stay
  • Pain management
  • The recovery process
  • Equipment you may need after surgery

You can download the class presentation materials.

If you are not yet scheduled for a surgery, but joint pain is interfering with your everyday life, call (585) 275-5321 for a consultation with one of our joint surgeons or learn more about the Evarts Joint Center experience.

Our scheduler will call you to arrange a Presurgical Screening Appointment, which you will attend approximately 3-4 weeks before your surgery.

Call (585) 262-9150 with any questions about this appointment. Leave a message with your question, name, phone number, best time to call you, and we will call you back. .

Bring the following with you to your Presurgical Screening Appointment:

  • Medication names, dosages, how often and time(s) of day you take them; this includes vitamins and over-the-counter medications
  • Insurance cards, photo ID, health care proxy or living will (if you have one); if you do not have a health care proxy form, we can provide one
  • After this appointment, it is important that you read, understand, and carefully follow your presurgical instructions, particularly any medication changes. The instruction sheet has specific instructions for the day of surgery. Follow up with the nurse navigators with any questions.

 

Weeks before your surgery, get your home ready!

Most patients having an elbow replacement will go home the day after their surgery, making it very important to have a strong support system; someone to take you home and then stay to help for a few days. You will not be allowed to drive yourself home after surgery, so please make sure there will be someone available to drive you home.

Other home preparations:

  • Determine where you will sleep. As most patients find it is most comfortable to sleep in a reclined position after surgery, having access to a recliner or a wedge to use in bed is helpful.
  • Remove throw rugs, electrical cords, and any other obstructions from walkways
  • Install nightlights in hallways and bathrooms
  • Catch up on laundry and housekeeping and prepare meals that can be easily reheated
  • Make arrangements for your pets for 2 weeks after surgery
  • Practice using only your nonsurgical arm to complete activities of daily living, including brushing hair and teeth, dressing, and bathing

Between the time of your surgery and your first outpatient physical therapy appointment, there are exercises that you should complete at home in order to prevent excessive stiffness & improve mobility of your arm. It can be helpful to become familiar with them before your surgery.

Tendon Gliding Exercises for the Hand

  • Keep arm in immobilizer at ALL times until first post-surgical visit 
  • Start with fingers straight, hold for 5 seconds
  • Make a hook fist bending first two joints of hand and keeping large knuckle straight, hold for 5 seconds then return to straight hand
  • Make a full fist bending all three joint of the hand, hold for 5 seconds then return to straight hand
  • Repeat

 

local_hospital Your Surgery & Recovery

You’ll receive compassionate care in the comfort of a community hospital, backed by the leading-edge technology and research at UR Medicine. Our entire team is focused on your success, made easier by our dedicated state-of-the-art orthopaedic operating rooms, joint surgery recovery unit, and rehabilitation gym.

The operating rooms at Highland’s Evarts Joint Center are state-of-the-art and dedicated to joint replacement and orthopaedic surgeries On the day of your surgery, arrange to be dropped off at the main entrance of the hospital, or park in the main parking garage adjacent to the hospital and proceed to the information desk staff, who will direct you. Your time in surgery is about 2-3 hours, but the actual elapsed time from operating room to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU), where you will recover from anesthesia, is usually about 3-4 hours. Your companion should follow current hospital visitation guidelines.

If you are brought to a recovery unit, your companion will be notified and they should follow our visitation guidelines. We will monitor your recovery until it is safe for you to go home

A social worker will review your discharge plans. The vast majority of patients operated on at Highland Hospital will go directly home the day after surgery. Research shows that joint replacement patients who are able to recover at home generally get better faster and with fewer complications. A few patients, however, have more complex medical needs and might need extended care at a skilled nursing facility (a nursing home that provides rehab services).

You Make the Difference! You will play a huge role in the success of your surgery and your recovery. It’s important that you be proactive and participate in your physical therapy program. The more committed and enthusiastic you are, the quicker your improvement will be.

During your first few weeks at home, you will adapt what you’ve learned at the hospital to your own setting. A few key reminders for when you first return home:

  • You will be required to wear your sling at all times with the exception of showering, changing clothing, or working on rehab exercises.
  • You must protect yourself from falling and keep your new joint in safe positions while you heal.
  • You should plan for someone to stay with you for several days when you first go home.
  • You may not drive a motorized vehicle if you are taking narcotic pain medication. You should not drive until your doctor or physical therapist says it is okay to do so. Usually you may begin driving once you are no longer required to wear the sling and are no longer taking narcotic pain medication. This usually occurs at 4-6 weeks..

It is normal to experience discomfort when doing your exercises and you may need to take pain medication prior to doing your physical therapy exercises. It is important that you perform your assigned exercises exactly as instructed by your physical therapist and with the appropriate number of repetitions.

help Questions & Answers

Here are the answers to questions we have heard most often about elbow surgery. Please feel free to contact us to get your specific questions answered.

Your time in surgery is about 2-3 hours, but the actual elapsed time from operating room to the post- anesthesia care unit (PACU), where you will recover from anesthesia, is usually about 3-4 hours.

The vast majority of our patients will go directly home the day after surgery.

The sling helps prevent damage to your elbow from the stretching of the muscles or tendons. How long you need to wear the sling depends on your specific type of surgery and how well your body is healing.

The modern replacement joints we use will last at least 15-20 years. Many factors influence the joint’s life, including your activity level and overall health.


To review a longer list of questions and answers about your surgery and your Highland experience, visit our Frequently Asked Questions Page.