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

An elbow injury required Tommy John surgery, costing the Astros pitcher not only the remainder of the 2023 season, but all of of last season as well. —Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025

Garcia, the Houston Astros’ right-hander who just returned from a 28-month recovery from Tommy John surgery, exited the field after securing just four outs. —Chandler Rome, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2025

Baldelli, an outfielder in his playing days who also had Tommy John surgery, knows what Keaschall is going through. —David Brown, Twin Cities, 6 Sep. 2025

In the two seasons following his Tommy John surgery in August 2022, take a look-see at Buehler’s statline — uh, hide the kids for this one — an 8-13 record with a 5.42 ERA and 38 home runs allowed in 187⅔ innings. —Anthony Stitt, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 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