Gloria Rivas, a San Antonio homemaker, protected her right arm in a sling.
Brett Hoskins, owner of a Houston medical company, wouldn't shake with his right hand.
Both came to UT Medicine San Antonio on Dec. 5 seeking relief from the pain of tennis elbow. Both are now pain-free with full range of motion, thanks to a 15-minute minimally invasive procedure. They can resume full activities without restriction by year's end.
The procedure, called FAST (focused aspiration of scar tissue), is performed in the Ambulatory Surgical Center at the Medical Arts and Research Center, a UT Medicine location. UT Medicine is the clinical practice of the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio.
FAST uses an ultrasound-guided probe the size of a toothpick to reach the exact area of the elbow where dead tissue is causing pain. “The probe liquefies the bad tissue, runs fluid through it and sucks it out,” said Anil Dutta, a UT Medicine orthopedic surgeon whose specialty is the shoulder and elbow.
FAST requires no surgical incision and is inserted through the skin after only local anesthetic with the patient fully awake. A console emits a patented and optimized form of energy to a handpiece with a needlelike tip that specifically breaks up and removes damaged tissue. The aspirated damaged tissue is collected in a bag and the entire device is then discarded.
“It has a very carefully designed energy that gets emitted through the probe. This eliminates diseased tissue without damaging healthy tissue,” said Bernard Morrey, clinical professor with UT Medicine and chairman emeritus of orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic.
Morrey participated in the development of the device and performed the procedures on Rivas and Hoskins, plus more than 20 other patients worldwide. Because of his stature in orthopedic medicine, Morrey was asked to lead a clinical trial that demonstrated FAST's safety and effectiveness. He is the personal physician to President George H.W. and Barbara Bush.
Rivas and Hoskins reported virtually no discomfort. “I feel like a new woman,” Rivas said. “I had six months of pain, and the cortisone shot I had lasted a week. This procedure was no pain. I had no pain.”
Hoskins said: “I had chronic tendonitis from fly fishing. I did ice, ibuprofen, more ice, an injection, in six months another injection—it was chronic and getting worse. Shaking hands was very difficult, as was picking up a suitcase or briefcase. It had a huge effect on my daily activities.”
Of the new procedure, he said: “It was far less painful than a shot in my elbow. During the procedure I felt no pressure or pain. An hour after the procedure, I don't have the pain I had when I walked in here. It's completely gone.”
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