Most surgeons will only consider surgical interventions if conservative management (3-6months) have failed to yield results. They see surgery as the "lazy" option for patients that do not want to put in the work to rehab it. There are a couple of different surgical techniques, or combinations of them to either release the tendon completely (cut it off), division and lengthening (what Dave is talking about), and then some others make an incision, pull the ITB to "stretch" it, and release it from the tissue around it, but leave it in tact. Depending on the technique, there are some negatives - it sometimes leads to increased instability in the lateral side of the knee, which could sometimes lead to other foot/ knee/ hip issues. Best would be to discuss with you Doc, and see what technique he/she recommends
