Health

Tommy John surgery continues to save baseball careers 50 years after its debut: 'Revolutionary'

Published

2 months ago

March 15, 2024

Tommy John surgery continues to save baseball careers 50 years after its debut: 'Revolutionary'

It’s been nearly 50 years since one of the biggest advancements in sports medicine: Tommy John surgery.

On Sept. 25, 1974, Dr. Frank Jobe first performed the operation on Tommy John, a professional baseball pitcher who played on Major League Baseball (MLB) teams between 1963 and 1989.

During the surgery, Jobe reconstructed a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in John’s left arm.

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It was a pioneering achievement for Jobe and a lifeline for John, who went from a career-ending injury to 14 more years in the majors — and an eponymous connection to sports medicine that would live on long past his playing days.

Since then, Tommy John surgery — more formally known as ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) reconstruction, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine — has been performed on many other baseball players.

New York Yankees pitcher Tommy John delivering a pitch versus the Kansas City Royals during a game at Yankee Stadium on July 9, 1988, in New York. (Getty Images)

Those players include David Wells (1985), John Smoltz (2000), Stephen Strasburg (2010), Rich Hill (2011), Shohei Ohtani (2018), Justin Verlander (2020) and Bryce Harper (2022), to name a few, according to MLB.

“I wouldn’t still be standing here if it weren’t for a surgery like this,” Chicago White Sox pitcher Michael Kopech said, according to the Associated Press. “It’s doubled the length of my career.”

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John Gallucci, a New Jersey-based physical therapist specializing in sports injuries, noted that Tommy John surgery has prolonged and saved many careers.

“Before this surgery, a torn UCL was considered a career-ending injury,” he told Fox News Digital.

“This surgery was a major advancement in treatment and was revolutionary for athletes and those who suffer from elbow injuries.”

Dr. Frank Jobe, orthopedic surgeon and Los Angeles Dodgers team physician, pioneered elbow ligament replacement and shoulder surgery for baseball players, a procedure commonly known today as Tommy John surgery. Jobe is pictured here in 1997. (Getty Images)

Alongside arthroscopic surgery and ACL reconstruction, Tommy John surgery is one of the biggest advancements in sports medicine in the last 50 years, according to Dr. Tim Kremchek, a longtime physician for the Cincinnati Reds.

“It [has] just prolonged and saved so many careers,” he said to the AP.

“Not just in baseball, but now for some other sports that we’re doing it for — so many other athletes, especially overhead athletes. But in terms of baseball, I think it’s allowed us to see some of the greatest players in the world continue to play for a long period of time.”

“It’s allowed us to see some of the greatest players in the world continue to play for a long period of time.”

In the debut operation at Rancho Los Amigos, a Southern California hospital, Jobe removed the palmaris longus tendon from John’s right arm, drilled four holes in his left elbow — and then used the tendon to replace the torn ligament.

“It wasn’t a new idea,” Jobe said in July 2013, about seven months before he died.

“It was just new for the elbow.”

In the first procedure, Jobe removed the palmaris longus tendon from John’s right arm, drilled four holes in his left elbow, and then used the tendon to replace the torn ligament (not pictured). (iStock)

The procedure itself hasn’t changed much since Jobe pioneered it, though doctors have made a few improvements.

“It has remained primarily the same, but advancements have been made,” said Gallucci.

“These advancements have made the surgery even more effective in tandem with work from physical therapists and certified athletic trainers during the recovery process.”

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“Due to the advancements made and the rehabilitation process improvements, the standard recovery period has been cut nearly in half from what it was 50 years ago,” he added.

The effects of Tommy John surgery have been seen in players’ performance on the field.

Verlander won the AL Cy Young Award in 2022, two years after he had Tommy John surgery.

Tommy John of the New York Yankees is pictured prior to the start of a Major League Baseball game circa 1987 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Getty Images)

Harper, who had the procedure in Nov. 2022, returned to Philadelphia’s lineup in May.

Dodgers pitcher Tyler Glasnow, who had Tommy John in 2021, struck out 162 batters in a career-high 120 innings last year.

Within months of receiving his second major elbow operation, Ohtani landed a record-breaking $700 million contract from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“There’s no question that Tommy John is the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is.”

“If you put it in dollars and cents, I think there’s no question that Tommy John is the most valuable reconstructive procedure there is,” Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the head team physician for the Dodgers and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, told the AP.

Despite its high success rate, the main challenge associated with the surgery has been the extended recovery and rehabilitation process.

For about 10 days after the surgery, the patient must wear a cast at a 90-degree angle.

“It wasn’t a new idea,” Jobe said in July 2013, about seven months before he died. “It was just new for the elbow.” (Getty Images)

It then takes months for the player to regain a full range of motion, and usually at least a year before returning to the field.

“Although this surgery was revolutionary, the road to recovery is no easy process — and that is where physical therapy comes into play,” said Gallucci, who has seen patients throughout the years in rehab from Tommy John surgery.

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“It requires commitment from the patient, as it is no easy feat,” he said.

“Although it takes a few months of rehab and slowly increasing strengthening exercises, I have seen patients make a full recovery and be able to play again.”

Dodgers pitcher Tony Gonsolin, who had surgery on Sept. 1, recalled his first day of throwing after the operation.

Tommy John, the 4-time All Star pitcher who won 288 games, is pictured at right with Tommy John III, a chiropractor in sports medicine. (Getty Images)

“It was like 30 throws, nice and easy, and just felt super foreign, like I’d never thrown before,” he said, as the AP reported. “Took some video on it, and they did not look pretty at all. Then I threw a couple [of] days later and it felt much better.”

Approaching the 50th anniversary of the surgery, Gonsolin said he is grateful for the medical advancement that started with Tommy John in 1974.

“I think the evolution of the surgery and just the sheer medical breakthrough from it allows [it] to extend people’s careers,” he said.

“It gives everybody a second opportunity.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.

Melissa Rudy is health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.

Health

High levels of resistant bacteria found in uncooked meats and raw dog food: ‘Red flag’

Published

5 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Press Room

High levels of resistant bacteria found in uncooked meats and raw dog food: ‘Red flag’

High levels of E. coli were found in uncooked meats and raw dog food sold in grocery stores in the U.K., according to research presented last week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona.

Researchers from the University of Bristol examined 58 samples of raw beef, chicken, pork and lamb sold at grocery stores in the U.K., along with 15 samples of raw dog food sold at “specialty pet stores,” according to a press release.

Eighty-one percent of the meat samples and 87% of the dog food samples were found to contain E. coli (Escherichia coli) that was resistant to antibiotics.

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The raw chicken had the highest levels of the resistant intestinal bacteria.

“E. coli is an intestinal bacteria that may propagate in cows and chickens used for meat, especially when they are raised in squalor or close together,” Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, told Fox News Digital.

High levels of E. coli were found in uncooked meats and raw dog food sold in grocery stores, according to research presented last week at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) Global Congress in Barcelona. (iStock)

“Since poultry and meat cows are often fed antibiotics to help them grow and to ward off infections, this helps to breed resistant strains, which emerge amid antibiotic overuse.”

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Siegel was not involved in the study.

“This study confirms that uncooked meat carries multiple resistant E. coli, commonly including resistance to critically important antibiotics important for human health,” the study authors said in a press release from ESCMID.

“E. coli is an intestinal bacteria that may propagate in cows and chickens used for meat, especially when they are raised in squalor or close together.” (iStock)

If ingested, the bacteria could colonize the intestines and cause resistant infections, according to study author Matthew B. Avison, a professor at the School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of Bristol.

“They can sit in your gut for years without causing sickness, and in some cases the bacteria will cause different types of disease later on, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections that can kill,” Avison told Fox News Digital.

“Infections with resistant bacteria are more difficult to treat and so are more likely to get worse.”

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Uncooked meat sold to be eaten by people after cooking is “commonly contaminated” with antibiotic-resistant E. coli, Avison noted.

The study results weren’t surprising, he said, as there have been “numerous reports” of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in uncooked meat and some studies showing this in raw dog food.

“In some cases, the bacteria will cause different types of disease later on, including urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections.”

“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, the freezing kills the bacteria, but we have shown that it does not,” Avison told Fox News Digital.

“There were just as many samples of chicken-based raw dog food contaminated with resistant E. coli than there were samples of raw chicken meat. If you feed your dog raw meat, therefore, you are likely feeding it antibiotic resistant E. coli.”

These findings explain why researchers previously found a strong link between feeding dogs raw meat and the dogs excreting resistant E. coli in their feces, Avison noted.

“People often believe that because raw dog food is sold frozen, that freezing kills the bacteria on it, but we have shown that it does not,” a researcher told Fox News Digital. (iStock)

Most people are not aware of the risk of these antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the researchers stated in the release.

They emphasized the importance of cooking meat thoroughly before eating, and using “appropriate hygiene practices” while preparing it.

“Cooking the meat properly will kill those bacteria,” Avison advised.

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“Treat all raw meat as if it were contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and assume dogs fed raw meat will be excreting resistant bacteria,” he went on.

“Use appropriate hand-washing and general hygiene practices to minimize the risk that you and other people will accidentally ingest these bacteria.”

“If you feed your dog raw meat, you are likely feeding it antibiotic resistant E. coli.”

Dog owners who feed raw meat to their pets should dispose of the animals’ waste hygienically, Avison said.

“Don’t let your dog lick your face or share your bed, and wash your hands after petting it,” he recommended. “These are all common sense practices anyway, but even more important if you raw-feed your dog.”

Researchers emphasized the importance of cooking meat thoroughly before eating, and using “appropriate hygiene practices” while preparing it. (iStock)

“And, of course, treat raw dog food as if it were any raw meat, in terms of hygiene and cleaning practices.”

The study raises a “red flag,” Siegel said, underscoring the importance of making sure that poultry and meat is fully cooked prior to human consumption, and that dog food is also cooked.

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Andre Delattre, chief operating officer of Public Interest Research Groups (PIRG) in Washington, D.C., said the study “underscores the importance of ending the practice of routine use of antibiotics in animal agriculture.”

“Use appropriate hand-washing and general hygiene practices to minimize the risk that you and other people will accidentally ingest these bacteria,” researchers said. (iStock)

“An inevitable byproduct of antibiotic overuse is resistance to these drugs,” he told Fox News Digital.

“Studies have also shown that meat raised without antibiotics is less likely to be contaminated with resistant bacteria.”

The University of Bristol study was published on a pre-print server and has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.K. Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for comment.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.

Melissa Rudy is health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to melissa.rudy@fox.com.

Health

This Is Why You’re Not Losing Weight on Semaglutide + Doctors’ Tips To Speed Results

Published

12 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

This Is Why You’re Not Losing Weight on Semaglutide + Doctors’ Tips To Speed Results

Why Am I Not Losing Weight on Semaglutide? 7 Reasons + Fixes | Woman’s World

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Health

A mother's heartbreaking story, plus mammogram guidance and cancer-fighting nutrients

Published

13 hours ago

May 1, 2024

Press Room

A mother's heartbreaking story, plus mammogram guidance and cancer-fighting nutrients

Derek McFadden, pictured at left with his mom Robin McFadden, was 23 when he took his own life on Aug, 17, 2018, in Tucson, Arizona. (Robin McFadden)

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