Dr. ElAttrache asked to about the history of the now famous surgical procedure and the current MLB star’s surgery and return to the mound.
Interview Link: Named for Dodgers pitcher, Tommy John surgery marks 50 years as Shohei Ohtani becomes latest beneficiary – ABC7 Los Angeles
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will soon start a throwing program, just months after having successful follow-up Tommy John surgery.
Ohtani’s fast recovery is a testament to the revolutionary procedure, originally performed 50 years ago on another Dodgers pitcher.
With that powerful arm, Ohtani displays control, command and speed. His throwing skills rose to new heights after a 2018 surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament.
“Within two years after his Tommy John operation, he was throwing well over 100 mph. And then last March, about a year ago, he was clocked at over 100 to 103 mph,” said Dr. Neal ElAttrache.
He performed that surgery while Ohtani played for the Angels. As the Dodgers’ head team doctor, ElAttrache looked on with admiration, but also concern.
“Those are the times when we get worried. Those are new forces that the body is going to have to withstand that we don’t know how that’s gonna go,” he said.
Ohtani’s ligament did tear again. In September, ElAttrache performed a Tommy John revision on Ohtani’s right elbow. Despite that, interest in the two-way star didn’t wane. Many teams besides the Dodgers offered him colossal multi-year deals.
“The sport is willing to invest enormous amounts of money in these players,” said ElAtrrache, chairman of the Kerlan-Jobe Foundation.
View full interview here.
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