Paging Dr. Andrews .... Paging Dr. Andrews ....

These days it seems "Tommy John" surgery is the tonsillectomy of baseball procedures.  Everyone's doing it.  Even football players (a kicker as well for cryin' out loud) have had the operation.  So, what is this surgery and who is Tommy John anyway?  And who is Dr. Andrews and what does he do?  Let's take a look and yes I will spare all of you any repulsive images.

Lets start at the beginning - Tommy John.  When I was young, John was a pitcher I enjoyed watching.  Not overpowering, yet he had a tremendous sinker which forced hitters to pound the ball into the ground.  He had some very good seasons with the White Sox.  The Sox had trouble scoring runs so John couldn't collect too many wins with them. With the LA Dodgers he had similar success but in 1974 he was experiencing issues with his elbow.  He went to see a doctor (Dr. Jobe) and they had discussions about a ground-breaking reconstructive surgery.  Tommy John went through with the surgery, came back a year later and had a successful career with the Dodgers and Yankees.  The procedure is now know as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction or "Tommy John Surgery".

The Injury. Throughout the pitching motion very large muscles of the body (legs, chest, shoulders) are propelling little tiny muscles (mostly elbow) in the arm to throw the ball at high speeds.  If not done properly this is a recipe for disaster.  Basically the injury that Tommy John experienced was a rupture to the UCL.  

To put it simply, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction is a procedure in which  the ligament is reconstructed (actually reinforced) by taking a tendon from some other part of the body (usually a forearm muscle) and weaving it through drill holes in the ulnar and humerus (see diagram) where the damaged ligament is typically located.  Rehab is very long and varies from case to case.  I'm talking about a year.

Presently Dr. James Andrews is known as the guru for this type of operation.  Dr. Andrews is an orthopedic surgeon and he specializes in elbow, knee and shoulder injuries.  He is one of the most respected in his field (no I'm not the ambassador for Dr Andrews).  He is the one who examines players and advises on whether or not they need this surgery.  He ultimately performs the procedure.
 

Relative to other medical procedures this one is rather simple.  So you can see why Tommy John surgery is popular.  Its straightforward and can solve ligament damage that would normally end a pitchers (or position player) career.

Below is a list of pitchers who have received this surgery.

   

Brett Anderson     David Aardsma     Jose Arredondo     John Axford     Bong Jung-Keun     Érik Bédard     Bill Bray     Andrew Brackman     Clint Brown     A J Burnett     Chris Capuano     Sean Carley     Chris Carpenter     Joba Chamberlain     Manny Corpas     Jorge De La Rosa     Rubby De La Rosa     John Dopson     Brendan Donnelly     Scott Feldman     John Franco     Éric Gagné     Jaime Garcia     Javy Guerra

Rich Hill     JP Howell     Tim Hudson     Phil Humber     Jason Isringhausen     Tommy John     Josh Johnson     Hong-Chih Kuo     John Lackey     Jesse Litsch     Francisco Liriano     Ryan Madson     Shaun Marcum     Andrew Marshall     Daisuke Matsuzaka     Kris Medlen     Cla Meredith     Sergio Mitre     Jamie Moyer     Joe Nathan     Pat Neshek     Scott Proctor     Jo-Jo Reyes

David Riske     José Rijo     Jon Ringblom     Kenny Rogers     Scott Schoeneweis     Andy Sisco     John Smoltz     Joakim Soria     Stephen Strasburg     Dallas Trahern     Edinson Volquez     Billy Wagner     Adam Wainwright     Jake Westbrook     Brian Wilson     CJ Wilson     Kerry Wood     Jordan Zimmermann     Joel Zumaya     Ryan Vogelsong     Arodys Vizcaino     Donald Veal

There are also position players who have received "Tommy John" surgery.  Maybe for position players it should be called "Jose Canseco" surgery - NAH.

    Rick Ankiel
    John Baker
    José Canseco
    Shin-Soo Choo
    Brad Hawpe
    Matt Holliday
    Todd Hundley
    Kelly Johnson
    Xavier Nady
    Deion Sanders
    Kyle Blanks
    Paul Molitor


Thanks for reading,
-Tom