A Clinical Look at Tommy John Surgery

Why is Tommy John surgery suddenly everywhere, even among 11-year-olds? On this episode of HSS Presents, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Josh Dines, sports medicine specialist Dr. James "Beamer" Carr, and physical therapist Terrance Sgroi dig into the UCL injury epidemic fueled by baseball's obsession with velocity, and how they diagnose it using exam techniques and the elbow-stressing "FEVER" MRI view. They break down when surgery is truly necessary versus when conservative treatment has a real shot, plus the murky world of PRP and stem cells. They cover the evolution of the surgery itself, from Frank Jobe's original 1974 procedure to today's bone-preserving docking technique, and why modern rehab timelines have gotten longer, not shorter, to safely return high-velocity throwers to the mound.