The Tommy-John Surgery

The Tommy John surgery is known as the surgical re-enactment of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) which is found in the elbow. A damaged ligament is usually replaced with a tendon taken from some other part of the body like from the forearm, hamstring, knee, or foot.

The surgery is named after Tommy John a baseball pitcher who was the first professional athlete to have had a successful operation of this nature. The surgery was performed by Dr. Frank Jobe in 1974.

Tommy John was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He has to his credit 288 career victories which ranks him as the seventh highest total amongst other left-handed pitchers in major league baseball. Out of the total, 164 of his victories came after his famous surgery.

The most recent player to have had an injury which will require the Tommy-John surgery is the famous right –handed star pitcher of the Washington Nationals, who ended up with a torn ligament as a result of the injury that he conceived Saturday night in Philly.

The medical diagnosis which just came in, and as reported by the Washington team to the media, has turned the fears of most into reality. There is now a high chance that Stephen Strasburg will need to under-go the Tommy-John surgery. Initially what was being thought of as just a strained tendon in his forearm is actually a torn ligament. This was revealed in the results of the new MRIs which were conducted on Stephen Strasburg.

Although a lot of baseball players have had this injury and the track record of a successful comeback is good amongst them, still it can require a player 12 to 18 months to fully recover and return to the game and then perform well.