Bursitis

Olecranon bursitis; in persons working with the elbow resting on hard grounds (lying with the elbow on the ground, resting the elbow on the table for a long time) as the habit have chronic irritation or sudden impacts and bumps in the bursa causes inflammation, edema and swelling due to bleeding.

In open wounds and skin-penetrating wounds, olecranon bursa may be infected by contact with the external environment and may cause abscesses. Besides that, in diseases such as gout, rheumatoid arthritis, elbow bursitis can be observed.

In olecranon bursitis, soft swelling behind the elbow is the first symptom. When Bursa expands, it causes pain with the pressure it applies on the wall of the sac. In addition, if infection is added to olecranon bursitis, redness and temperature increase in the region is observed.

The infection may spread and develop systemic fever and symptoms of infection. Elbow x-ray is taken to investigate the presence of foreign body or bone protrusion that may cause bursitis.

The first approach in bursitis is to penetrate the sac with a needle and draw the bursa fluid and perform microbiological examination in the fluid. Then appropriate antibiotic is administered. In patients with elbow bursitis, bandage and medication are applied to drain the sac.

In cases that does not heal with these treatments, the sac is removed surgically. Generally, it is adequate the anesthesia of the arm to remove the sac. However, general anesthesia can be performed in patients with poor cooperation and uncomfortable surgical environment.