Tommy John Surgery Improves Baseball Players' Physical Health in the Major League

Frank Jobe was the orthopedic surgeon that pioneered the famous Tommy John Surgery that is still widely used today, primarily for pitchers in Major League Baseball. He passed away last week at the age of 88.

Dr. Jobe's first implementation of the famous arm surgery was conducted in 1974. At the time, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John heard his arm "snap" when he was pitching during a game. Typically, such cases simply ended baseball careers, but both Dr. Jobe and Tommy John were determined to find a solution.

In the summer of 1974, Dr. Jobe invented the transplant procedure, which was inspired by past hand surgeries that were conducted to reinforce the joints in the hands of polio patients. Jobe's "Tommy John Surgery" was the first procedure to repair a joint (the elbow) that endured much more stress.

The reconstructive surgery involved snipping a 6-inch tendon from the pitcher's good arm and weaving it into a figure-eight structure in the damaged armed. The surgery in repairing the ulnar collateral ligament was successful for Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, and his career was prolonged 14 seasons thanks to Dr. Jobe. Nowadays, the surgery has seen advancements, where tendons from other parts of the body (such as the leg) can be used to repair the arm's damaged ligament.

Today, Dr. Jobe is credited and honored for pioneering the surgery that has preserved countless careers. A study that is being presented today at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) found that since 1986, 83% of Tommy John patients returned to Major League Baseball. Additionally, their performance was seen to improve in a number of categories following the arm surgery: the pitchers were found to issue fewer walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP); win a higher percentage of games; and have better earned run averages (ERA) following the reconstructive arm surgery.

And although stats are important in baseball, perhaps the most valued aspect of the surgery was that it extended the careers of those who were in jeopardy. For those in danger of never pitching again, Dr. Jobe's Tommy John Surgery has seen an average four years extended to the patients' careers.