I go into the history of the world renowned Tommy John Surgery and how it has saved the careers of many pitchers.

1. History of Tommy John
Surgery
Justin Paprocki
EXS101

2. What is Tommy John Surgery?
• Tommy John Surgery is a tendon reconstruction surgery of the
elbow where a healthy tendon from anywhere on the body is
taken and replaces a torn tendon in the elbow, usually the UCL. As
a matter of fact, the other name for Tommy John Surgery is also
called UCL Reconstruction Surgery.

3. Before the Surgery
• Ulnar Collateral Ligament tears for MLB pitchers before the 1970’s
were career ending injuries. It was the most feared injuries
sometimes not only for pitchers, but general players as well. The
only rehab available was simply physical therapy which would take
almost 3 years of rest, ice, and workouts and by the time it was
over, they had fallen out of love with the game or got too old to
play.

4. Hall of Fame Pitcher John Smoltz Post TJS

5. Early Discovery
• The first Tommy John Surgery was performed on a MLB pitcher by
the name of… well, Tommy John. This surgery was performed by
Dr. Frank Jobe and his team in 1974. This completely changed the
game in the medical field as well as baseball. After the surgery it
took Tommy John 18 months to return to the field but he did
return and came back just as skilled and effective as he was
before the surgery. He still lives on today able to throw and
perform with no issues in his elbow.

6. Development of the Surgery
• The surgery over the years has become a common place and
almost a necessary surgery to know if you want to become a
surgeon.
• UCL tears now are much less feared. Since the surgery has become
a reality, a whopping 85% of the players that get the surgery, come
back.

8. Potential Stepping Stone for Better Things?
• A Missouri orthopedic surgeon believes they have the replacement
to Tommy John. George Paletta thinks instead of completely
replacing the ligament in the elbow with another tendon, just
repair the existing ligament near the bone. He calls it “Primary
Repair” and has said of the 50 procedures he has done, all 50 as
been successful. We wait for further testing and how the surgery
lasts over time but it is extremely exciting to think that the
potential to cut the heal time of UCL tears by over half.

9. Works Cited
• https://www.uoanj.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Ulnar-
Collateral-Tears-of-the-Elbow-Presentation-.pdf
• https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1686719-tracing-the-history-
of-tommy-john-surgery-since-1974-through-key-mlb-pitchers
• http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/ct-tommy-john-
surgery-alternative-20170112-story.html