UTK Flash 5/3/21
Dustin May and the future of the elbow
Dustin May has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and after an MRI and consultation with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, he and the team have agreed that reconstruction (Tommy John surgery) is the best course. He will miss the rest of the 2021 season and likely into 2022 give the current pace of most rehabs. The 23 year old joins a long list of people who have had the same surgery, named after the Dodgers pitcher and created by Dodgers team physician Dr. Frank Jobe.
Sources tell me the sprain (and remember, a sprain is a tear) is significant, well beyond the threshold where things like PRP injections or even an InternalBrace could be considered. Instead, he will have the surgery on May 11th and with ElAttrache handling the surgery, it is likely to be a modified docking (DANE) procedure, though this is just a modification of the original surgery created by Jobe almost 40 years ago.
The video below shows Dr. David Altchek doing a similar type of procedure.
The rehab time for Tommy John surgery is currently between 14 and 18 months, though players have returned much more quickly. My thoughts on this extension of the rehab will be saved for another day, though I feel it could be done much more quickly.
May is just the latest young, hard throwing pitcher to undergo this type of surgery to repair elbow damage. May showed a sharp drop-off in velocity in his last start, then a noticeable event where he showed significant pain. Almost all pitchers at this level make it back, but he and the Dodgers are missing out on a season or more of baseball. The Dodgers have pitching depth, but May is a special talent and the drop-off will be noticeable, even for the Dodgers.