what the heck is tommy john surgery?

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dodgers pitcher walker buehler just had his second tommy john surgery, named for another baseball player.

by chris arnold

published aug 29, 2022

last updated feb 21, 2025

3 minute read

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3 minute read

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what is tommy john surgery? why does dodgers pitcher buehler need it?

tommy john surgery is named after a baseball pitcher who played 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989 and was a four-time nba all-star. [png merlin archive]

los angeles dodgers pitcher walker buehler has undergone his second tommy john surgery. the procedure will likely keep buehler off the mound until at least the end of the 2023 season.

having last played on june 28 in a 7-2 loss to the san francisco giants, buehler suffered from elbow discomfort, and retired after the fourth inning. up to that point in the season, he had a 6-3 record.

“there’s no sugarcoating it,” andrew friedman, president of baseball operations for the dodgers, told espn. “it was a tough blow, but we’ll get him back. i know he’s already itching.”

buehler, who won the 2020 world series with the dodgers, posted a photo on instagram with his arm in a sling, writing “tommy john round 2 let’s roll. see ya when i see ya dodgers.”

in his 115 regular-season starts, buehler has a 3.02era, 690 strikeouts, and a surprisingly low 162 walks. in 12 starts this season, he has a 4.02era, and 58 strikeouts in 65 innings.

dodger’s doctor neal elattrache scheduled buehler for surgery at the end of august to determine if a full reconstruction of his ligament would be required.

friedman talked to buehler the morning after the surgery. “the most important bit of information from today is that it went as well as it possibly could have.

“it’s easy to be frustrated, it’s easy to be mad, but that wasn’t his state of mind at all. it was much more kind of pragmatic and matter of fact, and whatever came out of it, he was going to attack it and do everything he could to get back as soon as possible.”

this announcement comes on the heels of the blue-jays pitcher hyun-jin ryu getting the surgery in june. ryu’s recovery is expected to take 12-18 months, according to sportsnet.

toronto blue jays starting pitcher hyun jin ryu delivers a pitch against the chicago white sox in the second inning at rogers centre. credit: dan hamilton

what, or who, is tommy john?

the surgery is named for a real person named tommy john, a baseball pitcher who played 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989 and was a four-time nba all-star. john played for the indians, white sox, dodgers, yankees, angels, athletics, and the yankees again. he had an era (earned-run average) of 3.34, 2,245 strikeouts, and 288 wins in 519 starts.

john suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in 1974, which could have ended his career. then frank jobe, the dodgers’ doctor, performed ligament replacement surgery on john. john missed the 1975 season, but he was able to return in ’76, where he had 10 wins and 207 innings pitched. he was the first player to ever return from ucl surgery and is credited with proving that high-level players can come back from such a difficult injury.

“…there are a bunch of kids now, youngsters getting tommy john [surgery] even before high school and college … and they’re signing them like it’s no big deal,” said dusty baker, manager of the houston astros, according to mlb.com.

“tommy saved a whole bunch of baseball careers.”

how is tommy john surgery performed?

tommy john surgery is relatively quick, lasting between 60 and 90 minutes.

the ucl is part of the arm around the elbow on the medial, or pinky, side. each of the ligaments in our bodies act as tethers between bones, johns hopkins medicine explains. an incision is made on the outside of the elbow, where tissue and muscles are moved out of the way so the surgeon can survey the damaged ligament. it’s possible for the surgeon to attach the damaged ligament to the new graft, depending on how damaged it is.

when it’s time to attach the new tendon, two holes are drilled into the radius and humerus – the arm bones – where the ligament originally connected. the bones are then reconnected by a graft and secured by screws or sutures.

the incision is then cleaned up and stitched back together. the patient is usually able to leave the hospital later the same day.

chris arnold is a toronto-based writer.