Has there been any official statement or discussion on Ben's surgery?

[rooneytunes]

I mean officially. Maybe I missed it but I honestly don't think I saw something.

What was it in the elbow that was injured and repaired?

What is the normal recovery time to get back to 100%

I heard rumors that it wasn't this "Tommy John Surgery Like a Baseball Pitcher' thing that everyone thinks it is and if Ben puts in the work for rehab his throwing arm can actually be better than before.

Heard it was a different type of elbow injury and there is actually no guarantee when he does come back that he will be able play as normal.

Just wondering what the actual official word on it is.

[bradshaw2ben]

No official word. It was reported as "Tommy John Surgery not required". I know someone with some knowledge of elbow injuries who is convinced it was a pronator muscle mass repair. He said that IF that's what it was, most athletes who had that surgery report that after recovery, they forget that they even had the injury--feels the same as ever.

Recovery normally 12-18 weeks for people who don't throw for a living.

[Kodiak]

No official word. It was reported as "Tommy John Surgery not required". I know someone with some knowledge of elbow injuries who is convinced it was a pronator muscle mass repair. He said that IF that's what it was, most athletes who had that surgery report that after recovery, they forget that they even had the injury--feels the same as ever.

Recovery normally 12-18 weeks for people who don't throw for a living.

Good stuff. It's REALLY weird that they are being cagey about it if it's no big deal. I'm not sure Tommy John would have caused a panic - would have been good to add a couple mph to the fastball, maybe get a few more years out of that arm. I still only have 2 explanations for the cloak & dagger - either it's scarier than you describe, or there's a shot he could come back like mid-December if we're in the playoffs. And I don't think the latter is a real possibility.

Ben has said he expects to be "ready" for OTA's or minicamp. I put "ready" in quotes because it wasn't clear if he meant ready to start throwing May/June, or if he'll 100% unrestricted....but I assume he expects to be a full, unrestricted participant.

And he'll need to be fully ready by May/June to get the timing/touch back. He'll need a lot more reps next preseason, at least in practice. Maybe that won't be a problem with his arm feeling better than it has in several years. On that latter point, he may have been compensating for a gradually degrading elbow the past 2-3 years....which, again, he'll need the reps to "uncompensate" for a healthy arm.

[Kodiak]

I don't think I noticed Ben wearing the brace this past week?

Also, does Ben look like he's ballooning up? Looked to me like he's put on at least 15-20 pounds since he got hurt. Maybe he's using his injury time as his cheat/recovery months, and will crank-up the fitness early in January (as opposed to like May).

[LakecrestSteeler]

I don't think I noticed Ben wearing the brace this past week?

Also, does Ben look like he's ballooning up? Looked to me like he's put on at least 15-20 pounds since he got hurt. Maybe he's using his injury time as his cheat/recovery months, and will crank-up the fitness early in January (as opposed to like May).

I don’t think he ballooning up. Looked decent against the Rams...see pic with Mamoa.

[Kodiak]

He actually looks pretty fit in that pic.

So I guess "fat Ben" that I saw on Thursday night was just the winter clothes. He did look like he had a big gut.

[SteelPro]

It hasn’t been officially stated, but mostly likely he had a UCL primarily repair. This is a newer technique to repair a damaged UCL that is I increasingly becoming an alternative to Tommy John. The doctor that performed Ben’s surgery is one of the leading developers of the UCL primary repair surgery. Google “dr neal elattrache primary repair” and you will find he is well published and quite well known for the technique.

[bradshaw2ben]

UCL repair is Tommy John surgery. Since it was reported he did not require Tommy John, sounds like that was not the surgery.

[SteelPro]

UCL repair is Tommy John surgery. Since it was reported he did not require Tommy John, sounds like that was not the surgery.

Not true. Not anymore. Tommy John is a complete reconstruction using a tendon as a replacement. UCL Primary repair is not a reconstruction.

What's the story behind the primary repair technique?

According to Dugas, not every UCL injury is created equal.

"When we are doing these operations, some people's ligaments are blown in half, some people have some partial tears and we've had the same answer for that for a long time," he explains.

That answer has been Tommy John surgery, which is a highly effective method for fixing an injured UCL. "We all know the success rate of Tommy John surgery, and it's been great operation. That hasn't changed; it's still a great operation," Dugas says.

However, doctors began to investigate alternative methods for repairing less-severe UCL injuries in hopes of reducing the recovery time from the surgery. The first primary repair surgery was performed in 2013.

How is primary repair surgery different from traditional Tommy John surgery?

Primary repair surgeries repair the UCL instead of replacing it. According to Dugas, who has performed over 100 of them, a piece of super strong tape is attached directly to the UCL. The tape is coated in collagen, which helps the ligament heal.

It's a less invasive and less painful procedure than Tommy John surgery—although Dugas says that Tommy John surgery isn't terribly painful.


https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/n ... me-in-half

[Orangesteel]

Soooooo, Ben to return mid-December???

[bradshaw2ben]

UCL repair is Tommy John surgery. Since it was reported he did not require Tommy John, sounds like that was not the surgery.

Not true. Not anymore. Tommy John is a complete reconstruction using a tendon as a replacement. UCL Primary repair is not a reconstruction.

What's the story behind the primary repair technique?

According to Dugas, not every UCL injury is created equal.

"When we are doing these operations, some people's ligaments are blown in half, some people have some partial tears and we've had the same answer for that for a long time," he explains.

That answer has been Tommy John surgery, which is a highly effective method for fixing an injured UCL. "We all know the success rate of Tommy John surgery, and it's been great operation. That hasn't changed; it's still a great operation," Dugas says.

However, doctors began to investigate alternative methods for repairing less-severe UCL injuries in hopes of reducing the recovery time from the surgery. The first primary repair surgery was performed in 2013.

How is primary repair surgery different from traditional Tommy John surgery?

Primary repair surgeries repair the UCL instead of replacing it. According to Dugas, who has performed over 100 of them, a piece of super strong tape is attached directly to the UCL. The tape is coated in collagen, which helps the ligament heal.

It's a less invasive and less painful procedure than Tommy John surgery—although Dugas says that Tommy John surgery isn't terribly painful.


https://www.andrewssportsmedicine.com/n ... me-in-half

I learned something.

Also I’ve seen some stuff re: surgery and use of super sticky tape... really cool stuff