A study of professional baseball pitchers found that most returned to the sport without a significant decline after open reduction and internal fixation of the medial epicondyle.
The study by Dr. Anthony Romeo and colleagues recorded demographic and performance data for 15 professional pitchers with a history of ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) who underwent ORIF of the medial epicondyle. Romeo presented the data at the American Shoulder & Elbow Surgeons annual meeting, according to Healio.
Tommy John surgery replaces an injured ulnar collateral ligament with a tendon taken from somewhere else in the patient’s body. It’s designed to fix severely broken bones when the fractures can’t be treated with a cast or splint. Injuries requiring ORIF usually involve displaced or unstable fractures, or ones that involve joints.
Some 73% of patients in the study returned to baseball, with 55% of the returnees reaching the same level or higher. The study found no significant differences in the primary performance outcome variables when comparing preoperative and postoperative performance.
But there was a statistically significant difference in the secondary performance measure of the number of innings pitched per year. Following ORIF, the players pitched fewer innings compared to the control, according to Romeo.
“There were no significant differences in the primary performance outcome measures that were seen between the cases and the controls, which are other pitchers who are matched in almost every way possible except for the surgery and complication,” Romeo said in his presentation. “The cases pitched fewer innings when compared to controls following open reduction and internal fixation.”