Tommy John surgery

noun

Tom·​my John surgery ˈtä-mē-ˈjän- 

plural Tommy John surgeries

: a surgical procedure in which a torn ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow is replaced with a tendon graft typically obtained from a superficial muscle of the forearm : ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction

Dr. Timothy Kremchek, the medical director for the Cincinnati Reds, specializes in an elbow-ligament reconstruction procedure commonly known as Tommy John surgery, named for the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher who first underwent it, in 1974.

—Sara Corbett

But as an outfielder he hurt his throwing arm and had to have Tommy John surgery before the year was out.

—Kelli Anderson

Examples of Tommy John surgery in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Eury Pérez rejoined the rotation in June after missing more than a year following Tommy John surgery. —Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025

On Saturday, manager Alex Cora announced that the righty will undergo Tommy John surgery, not only ending this season but taking him out of the equation for most, if not all of next year. —Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 3 Aug. 2025

Pitching into the fourth inning for the first time since returning from his second Tommy John surgery, Shohei Ohtani came out of the game after throwing six consecutive balls including two wild pitches. —Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 31 July 2025

Bieber underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2024 and could return to a big-league mound in the next couple weeks. —Zack Meisel, New York Times, 31 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

after Tommy John (Thomas Edward John, Jr. born 1943), U.S. baseball player who underwent the surgery in 1974

First Known Use

1984, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Tommy John surgery

• radiosurgery
• cryosurgery
• microsurgery
• neurosurgery
• psychosurgery
• perjury

Medical Definition

Tommy John surgery

noun

Tom·​my John surgery ˈtäm-ē-ˈjän- 

: ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction