Okay, to finish this thread off and to answer the question I posed - are PRP injections for tennis elbow successful or not? For me, the answer is no. I received no benefit from the two injections I received.
The theory behind the platelet rich saturation of the area of tendonosis seems reasonable enough, but it is just a theory. Introducing massive amounts of growth factors as well as piercing the tendon to both promote and provoke an accelerated healing cascade seems reasonable enough. But for me, it did nothing. And some of the more recent clinical trials have found that there is no difference in the healing response between PRP injections and saline injections. However, there are those who have undergone PRP injections and have experienced a satisfactory outcome - a resolution of pain and return to tennis and other activities using the extensor muscles and tendons. To those lucky enough to have experienced that response, I say good for you! I envy you and wish you a lifetime of pain free tennis without a return to this debilitating condition.
The other thing I'll say to those who believed I didn't allow the PRP enough time to repair the tendonosis, the injecting sports physician believes that if it is going to work, a positive response is encountered within 6 weeks of the injection. In my case, I waited over 4 months and unfortunately, the positive hoped for response never eventuated.
Where I am at now? 3 weeks following a repair to the common extensor origin, I am feeling very positive. The ortho surgeon using the open surgery method, excised the damaged and degenerated portion of the ECRB tendon (I had a partial thickness tear) and reattached the tendon to the lateral epicondyle. He tells me that the surgery went well and he expects me to make a complete recovery and to at least be hitting again at the 3 month mark. More competitive tennis will come a few months later. Interestingly, he saw no evidence of any healing response to either the PRP injections or any of the many other modalities I had used.
I will say that the pain level for the 4 days following the op was severe - far more than I expected and I've had 2 knee reconstructions and 6 arthroscopic knee surgeries so I thought I would know what to expect pain-wise. I was wrong!
So 3 weeks on, still elbow stiffness and not yet full range of motion, and some post operative pain. Can't quite fully extend the elbow and can't quite attain full flexion, but I improve every day. The good news - the pain I've had for 9 months where the ECRB tendon attaches to the epicondyle, it's gone! So at this early stage, even with some stiffness and post op pain present, the tennis elbow pain is not there.
So I remain hopeful that the repair has been successful, and that as the next months roll on, the elbow pain does not return as my forearm regains strength and full function. I have no desire to rush prematurely back into tennis - having been through so much so far, I really want to rehabilitate the elbow completely before even the lightest hitting. Aussie.
That