Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction and Posterior Osteophyte Resection through Single Medial Incision: A Case Report

Ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) injuries and posterior elbow impingement commonly affect throwing athletes.Due to valgus laxity caused by UCL injury, shear stress occurs in the posterior compartment, often resulting in osteophytes at the posterior medial tip of the olecranon and the olecranon fossa by valgus extension overload mechanism.Surgical resection of posterior osteophytes associated with UCL injury may be performed arthroscopically or through a separate posterior incision and may be performed simultaneously or sequentially with UCL reconstruction.We report a case of simultaneous UCL reconstruction and posterior osteophyte resection through single medial incision as used in Tommy John surgery.This single-stage operation method is advantageous in saving the surgical time because there is no change in position for arthroscopic procedure or additional posterior incision, and it facilitates to access to the surgical field for UCL reconstruction without elbow swelling resulted from the fluid extravasation during arthroscopy.