Lake County woman regains use of her arm after new tendon procedure

What began as an ache in Susan Jones’ left elbow became so limiting she could not even hold up a can of soda.

Soon, other tasks became difficult, too, from lifting grocery bags to reaching for items with her left hand.

"It didn't have an injury. That's the strange part," Jones said. “I kept wondering what I did to this arm for it to be so painful. I didn’t fall or hit it against anything. I wasn’t playing tennis and was afraid to use it.”

Jones, who lives in Leesburg, was among the first patients at AdventHealth Waterman to undergo TenJet, a newly available procedure designed to treat stubborn tendon pain.

Using imaging to guide a small device through a tiny opening, TenJet removes damaged tendon tissue while leaving healthy tissue intact.

For Jones, the discomfort began before she moved from Texas to Florida in the summer of 2025 and kept getting worse.

By the time she was referred to Dr. Ahrash Khajaei -- a board-certified sports medicine physician at AdventHealth Waterman -- she had already tried rest and over-the-counter medicine, but the pain kept getting in the way of daily life.

Khajaei said Jones’ scan showed a small tear and damage in the tendon, but not a full rupture.

That made her a good candidate for TenJet instead of open surgery.

“TenJet gave us another option that could treat the problem without needing to perform a larger operation,” Dr. Khajaei said. “With traditional surgery, a patient may be looking at several months of recovery. With TenJet, it usually takes about six weeks, not months, and the patient avoids larger incision, stitches and more involved surgical recovery.”

For Jones, the improvement became obvious days after her procedure.

“I was surprised by how quickly I could get back to what I needed to do,” she said. “Within a week, I was out of the sling.”

At first, Jones said, she was careful not to lift too much or move too quickly. But as the days passed, she noticed she was using her left arm again without bracing for pain.

“I realized I wasn’t thinking about every little movement anymore,” Jones said. “Before, I would hesitate because I expected it to hurt. Now, I do everything.”