A systematic review of surgical outcomes of ulnar collateral ligament rupture in the elbow treated with various techniques

When comparing different techniques, there is limited evidence on return-to-play rates and complication rates following ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery. This systematic review aims to assess the outcomes of various UCL surgery techniques. A systematic search of PubMed, Google Scholar, and EMBASE up to May 2024 was performed. Outcome measures included return-to-play rates and postoperative complication rates from relevant articles. Data was analyzed using a chi-square analysis to determine statistical significance. Internal bracing repair demonstrated a return-to-play rate of 93.2 % at the same or higher level of competition, outperforming the rates of 80.5 % for the modified Jobe technique and 82.3 % for docking reconstruction. The docking technique exhibited a minor postoperative complication rate of 2.35 %, significantly lower than the rates of 8.59 % and 8.08 % for modified Jobe and internal bracing techniques, respectively. The modified Jobe technique had a major postoperative complication rate of 1.16 %, while internal bracing had a rate of 3.01 %. The use of internal bracing for anchor repairs demonstrated a statistically significant higher return-to-play rate at the same or elevated levels of competition compared to the reconstruction techniques analyzed. Notably, the docking technique exhibited a significantly lower rate of minor postoperative complications when contrasted with both the modified Jobe and internal bracing methods. Furthermore, the modified Jobe technique was associated with a significantly reduced incidence of major postoperative complications compared to the internal bracing approach.