Interesting Article on Brock Purdy's Surgery

[RiverDog]

It's a long article, but interesting. Here are some highlights:

After taking over as starter in December, Purdy led the 49ers to a 7-1 record before tearing the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow in the first quarter of the NFC Championship Game loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The hope, based on multiple rounds of medical tests and opinions, was Purdy would have what is known as a UCL repair with Internal Brace augmentation. The repair requires no tendon graft to completely reconstruct the ligament -- making it less complex than the traditional UCL reconstruction, commonly known as Tommy John surgery. The typical five to seven month recovery would open the door for Purdy to return late in the summer, thus allowing the Niners to sign Pro Bowl defensive tackle Javon Hargrave to a four-year, $84 million contract and bring in Sam Darnold as a low-cost veteran quarterback option.

The fear was that once Purdy's ligament was exposed in the operating room, the visible damage would exceed the strict requirements for a repair and he would need Tommy John surgery, which comes with a lengthier recovery time. The extended return to play window would have jeopardized Purdy's 2023 season and forced the Niners to look at costlier quarterback alternatives at the expense of other roster upgrades. The answer wouldn't become clear until Dr. Keith Meister opened up Purdy's right elbow.

A little more than a decade ago, the UCL repair option didn't exist; all athletes with UCL injuries severe enough to prevent them from being able to throw, regardless of the tissue quality of the damaged ligament, had to go with what had become the gold standard: Tommy John surgery.

TOMMY JOHN PITCHED for seven Major League Baseball teams over a 26-year career that included 288 wins and four All-Star appearances. Despite that lengthy run, John is known as much for the surgery that bears his name as his baseball accomplishments.

John tore his UCL in 1974 while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After unsuccessfully waiting and hoping rest might suffice, Dr. Frank Jobe, the Dodgers' team physician, suggested a surgical solution that had previously been limited to wrists and hands. The idea was to replace the ligament in John's left elbow with a tendon graft from his right forearm.

The surgery was a success. After a lengthy recovery, John -- whose career would have otherwise ended -- returned in 1976, winning 164 games and retiring in 1989. Tommy John surgery became the standard procedure for throwing athletes with torn UCLs. The injury and subsequent surgery were increasingly common in pitchers, but other athletes -- javelin throwers, softball players and an occasional quarterback -- also got the procedure.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/377 ... bow-repair

[trents]

Well, when they opened Purdy's elbow up what did they find? Did he have the lesser surgery or was the damage significant enough to require the full blown TJ surgery? You left us in suspenders.

[RiverDog]

Well, when they opened Purdy's elbow up what did they find? Did he have the lesser surgery or was the damage significant enough to require the full blown TJ surgery? You left us in suspenders.

I was mostly intrigued with the new surgical method and the history of Tommy John surgery than I was the details of Purdy's surgery. However, although I couldn't find the specifics in the article, it would appear that he did have the UCL/internal brace method and that they were happy with the results:

All of which makes establishing a date for Purdy's return guesswork, though the Niners and Purdy believe they'll have a much better idea when he hits the 12-week mark in early June and can begin a throwing program. In the meantime, the 49ers will split first-team reps between Trey Lance and Darnold in a competition for the starting job until Purdy can return without restriction.

The early returns on Purdy's recovery have been good -- he set social media abuzz by using his right arm to high-five fans at a San Francisco Giants baseball game. The 49ers will not rush Purdy back, but there's growing optimism he could return during training camp.

"What's more encouraging is what I'm hearing every day from our people, from Brock," Lynch said. "He's making great progress ... As I understand it, he's definitely on schedule hitting all the checkpoints and we're very encouraged by his rehab."

12 weeks in early June means that he had the surgery around the 2nd week of March, which would make sense as they said they needed to wait until the swelling subsided before they had the surgery.

Edit: Purdy did have the UCL internal brace repair surgery on March 10th:

Purdy underwent successful elbow surgery Friday (March 10th), the team announced. His orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Keith Meister, conducted an internal brace repair to Purdy's right elbow, and he is anticipated to start a throwing progression program in three months, per the 49ers.

https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/49ers ... -announces