[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by sedated

Ouch. This is the first time I can recall that happening.

What we've missed about Tommy John surgery

11 of the 31 surgeries in 2014 were revisions, or repeat Tommy John procedures. In other words, 35.5 percent of pitchers having Tommy John surgery in 2014 had previously undergone the procedure. The initial graft subsequently failed, and they were now undergoing yet another UCL reconstruction.

Much of the research on revisions has been done by Stan Conte, vice president of medical services for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After spending countless hours studying data related to Tommy John surgeries -- both primary and revisions -- the number that grabbed Conte's attention was the spike in revisions over the past three years.

"We've seen as many revisions from 2012 through 2014 as we had in the entire prior decade," Conte said.

Since 1999, of the 235 MLB pitchers who have undergone Tommy John surgery, only 32 have undergone revision -- but one-third of them have occurred in the past year.

Why are revision surgeries skyrocketing? No one knows for sure, but here are a few theories: