Elbow medial ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction: Clinical relevance and the docking technique

Trends in Revision Elbow Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Professional Baseball Pitchers

“…12 This method was shown to restore elbow kinematics to near normal and restore the strength of the graft to that of the native ligament. 15 In 2010, Bowers et al 16 reported excellent outcomes in 90% (19 of 21) of patients undergoing either the docking or the modified docking technique. Other authors have reported similar outcomes with these techniques.…”

“…8,14,17 Finally, the development of the DANE TJ technique, which combines humeral side docking and the use of interference screws in a blind ulnar tunnel, has also demonstrated excellent results. 16,18 Enhancement of rehabilitation protocols and development of safe throwing exercises may have also improved the elbow UCL reconstruction revision rate among MLB pitchers. For example, in 2009, Bernas et al 19 described the safety of various degrees of flexion and extension and associated stress to the graft in the immediate postoperative period, which has helped therapists and surgeons tailor their rehabilitation protocols to protect the graft.…”

‘Batter’s Shoulder’: Can Athletes Return to Play at the Same Level After Operative Treatment?

“…Finally, there were no validated outcome scores used. We relied on a modified Conway scale, which has been used in other peer-reviewed articles as an objective measure of outcome based on the rate and duration of return to play [4,8,9].…”

Operative Management of Ulnar Collateral Ligament Insufficiency in Adolescent Athletes

“…to facilitate easier graft passage, tensioning, and fixation, have demonstrated a 90% to 92% rate of return to play in prior studies. 7,9,22 The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of UCL reconstruction in a large group of adolescent athletes. On the basis of prior studies using the docking technique, we hypothesized that high rates of return to play would be observed in this population at a minimum 2-year follow-up.…”