sport news Tommy John surgery rescued Shohei Ohtani and saved hundreds of pitchers' ... trends now
A thick scar runs along the right arm of Shohei Ohtani. Further proof lingers beneath the skin, too.
'I would hope that you would say: “This looks like a normal ligament…”' says Dr Neal ElAttrache, the surgeon trusted to put Ohtani and many of sport's biggest stars back together. 'Just a little bit thicker.'
That is the legacy of two operations over five years aimed at rebuilding the elbow of baseball's most prized asset. The hope for both doctor and patient? That scar will fade and, in time, the sole giveaway will only be visible via MRI.
Back in December, a few months after that second round of surgery, the Los Angeles Dodgers handed Ohtani a $700million contract – the richest contract in sports history. It was a nine-figure vote of confidence in ElAttrache and a procedure which, over the past five decades, has saved billions of dollars and thousands of careers.
Ohtani is not slated to pitch in a game again until 2025, after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament for a second time. The Dodgers are gambling on the two-way star rediscovering the level that made him a two-time MVP. A risky bet? Well, Ohtani has done it once already. And so have plenty of others.
Shohei Ohtani's right arm carries a scar following his second Tommy John surgery
Dr Neal ElAttrache, sport's most famous surgeon, has twice operated on the $700million star
According to the Kerlan-Jobe Institute, more than 90 per cent of pitchers return to their best after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the groundbreaking procedure first pioneered by Frank Jobe 50 years ago. In simple terms, surgeons reconstruct the UCL by grafting on a replacement tendon - usually from the forearm or hamstring. And, according to ElAttrache, it is 'the most impactful, most important and most successful reconstructive procedure in sports.'
In fact, the operation has developed such a mythology that many coaches and parents have considered putting players under the knife – even before their elbow is hurt.
'The Tommy John is the king. I don't think there's any procedure we do that's as important in sports as that one,' ElAttrache says. And yet disaster looms, with baseball battling a crisis on the mound.
'The numbers are pretty staggering,' says ElAttrache, the Dodgers' head team physician. More than 30 per cent of MLB pitchers have had Tommy John surgery at some point in their career, including 38 in the past the last 13 months. The Guardians' Shane Bieber and Atlanta star Spencer Strider are among the latest – it's been a brutal start to the 2024 season. According to ESPN's MLB Injury Status, around 80 pitchers are currently nursing elbow problems.
The Astros' Justin Verlander branded the current wave of injuries a 'pandemic'. ElAttrache calls it an 'explosion'. And the number of players who, like Ohtani, re-tear the ligament and need a second operation is growing, too.
'Their effort and performance is greater than it used to be,' the surgeon says. 'So if you can tear the ligament God put in your elbow. You can tear the one that I reconstruct.'
Cleveland Guardians pitcher Shane Bieber is among the latest pitchers to go under the knife
MLB is embroiled in a public row with its players association after reducing the time between pitches. Experts such as ElAttrache cannot offer a simple solution. Only a warning.
'There's no question that we're exceeding the maximum capacity of this ligament – at a higher and higher rate,' ElAttrache says.
Surgeons have already had to modify the Tommy John to help pitchers withstand today's demands. And ElAttrache fears the day could come when existing medical procedures simply 'can't keep up.'
'I never underestimate the demands of the human body. And I try not to overestimate what I, as a human being, can do to fix it,' he
