Which Tommy John Surgery Is Best? Answer: Neither! (Orthopedics This Week)
It’s a first-in-the-literature…Jim Bradley, M.D., M.S., a sports medicine specialist with Burke & Bradley Orthopedics at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and lead physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, has conducted a head-to-head trial of two types of Tommy John procedures. Dr. Bradley tells OTW, “We conducted a prospective randomized clinical trial comparing a modified Jobe technique (as taught to me by Frank Jobe), to the docking technique that was developed by David Altchek. We had an equal number of baseball players in each group—88% docking procedure and 84% of those who had the modified Jobe returned to play at the same level. All baseball players had complete tears of their UCL [ulnar collateral ligament] and no prior surgeries on the ipsilateral shoulder or elbow.”
“This study, which was conducted with high school and college baseball players, is the first one in the literature to prospectively compare the modified Jobe versus a docking technique by one surgeon, one institution, and one rehab protocol. While the majority of players did well, there was a 12-16% failure rate, which is c...
