Complicated elbow repair has Twins’ Rich Hill back on the mound – Minneapolis Star Tribune
By daniellenierenberg
Rich Hill is trying different ways to make hitters uncomfortable while contributing to a team that has high expectations this season.
That part hasn't been perfect, but the 40-year-old Twins lefthander is coming off an outing on Sunday against Detroit during which he held the Tigers to two runs over five innings and left the game leading 5-2 before the bullpen had a rare multiplayer meltdown.
The fact that the oldest pitcher is baseball is even able take the mound this season is an achievement. Faced with Tommy John elbow surgery last October that threatened to knock him out for all of 2020, Hill ended up being a candidate for different type of elbow surgery that got him back on a mound in nine months.
"Absolutely pleased with my elbow," Hill said. "Feeling zero issues the entire time through rehab, through the throwing program, through any outing this season. The elbow has been great.
"Continue to keep moving in that upward fashion, and again, it's the four days in between, making sure that I'm getting in the work that I need to get in. The training staff has done a great job.
Instead of having Tommy John surgery, in which the ulnar collateral ligament is reconstructed using a ligament from a patient's forearm or hamstring and can knock a pitcher out of action for up to 16 months, a procedure called primary repair was used to strengthen the ligament instead of replacing it. A piece of tape that is coated with collagen is attached to the ligament and bone to assist in the repair and strengthening of the area. It is a less invasive surgery than the one named after John, the pitcher who was the first to have such a surgery in 1974. Therefore, the recovery time is shorter.
Making the call
Given his age and desire to chase a World Series, Hill was all ears once he learned of the possibility of the surgery. He spent nearly three months on the Los Angeles Dodgers' injured list last season because of a left forearm strain and still had trouble upon his return.
But the primary repair surgery is still relatively new, going back to 2011, in comparison to hundreds of Tommy John surgeries being performed since 1974. Only a handful of baseball players, including pitchers Seth Maness and Jesse Hahn and outfielder Brandon Guyer, have had the procedure. Hill consulted with several of the nation's top orthopedic surgeons including James Andrews, Neal El-Attrache and Timothy Kremchek to learn as much as he could about the procedure. He also spoke with Maness and Guyer.
"I gathered as much information as I could talked to maybe every major orthopedic surgeon in baseball," Hill said. "I think I talked to everyone across the country as far as orthos go. Understanding this has been a very successful surgery and I wanted to make sure the percentages were going in the right direction as far coming back as possible and making sure I would not be looking back and having something."
Unique case
Still, he had to be the right candidate for the procedure. Each UCL tear is different. If the tear is in the middle of the ligament, the tape might not be effective. A tear off the bone is considered the perfect candidate for primary repair.
And a surgeon will not know if a ligament can be treated with primary repair until after he or she can open up the damaged area and inspect the ligament. A Magnetic Resonance Imaging exam isn't enough.
"You can't look at it and say 'I want that one,'" said Dr. Jeffrey Dugas of the Andrews Sports and Orthopedic Center in Birmingham, Ala. "You've got to fit the mold for it. You have to have the right tissue, the right injury and that doesn't occur all the time. There are lots of people who still are better off with reconstruction."
Tissue issues
Dugas who performed the surgery on Hill, who previously had Tommy John surgery in 2011. Dugas took a look at the damage and determined primary repair was the way to go.
"Rich had previous reconstruction, so he had already had Tommy John surgery," Dugas said. "So he had more tissue than the average person who had never torn it before. He had his own tissue plus the graft. He had a ton of tissue to deal with.
"He had double or triple the amount of tissue."
On top of it all, Hill also underwent a stem cell injection, with the stem cells coming from his own bone marrow, to assist in the healing process. Hill stopped at nothing to get back on the mound this season.
Ups and downs
On New Year's Eve, he signed with the Twins, getting a contract worth $3 million with bonuses for games started and innings pitched, with both sides understanding he wouldn't be ready until July. As it turned out, that's when the truncated season started, cutting Hill's base salary to $1.1 million in a 60-game season.
After his first start, he missed three weeks because of shoulder fatigue, working at St. Paul to get back in the Twins' rotation. In five starts, he is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA. He's been knocked out in the third and fourth innings in two of his outings, and opponents' line drive percentage of .290 is the highest against Hill in his career.
But Hill has spent his 16-year career adapting, being used as a starter with the Cubs, to being a reliever with the Red Sox, to being a starter again with the Dodgers and now with the Twins. And there was a stop in independent ball when things weren't working out for him.
Adding a pitch
Everyone knows Hill throws plenty of curveballs, a pitch he can change the shape of and speed. But he's broken out a cut fastball lately, throwing 18 over his last three starts. It's something else for hitters to think about and a pitch that could help him down the stretch in the heat of a pennant race.
Because that's what it was all about for Hill, getting healthy as fast as possible and getting another chance at the postseason while he still can.
"The last five years have just been an incredible experience of just being able to use that knowledge to now, where my body is strong and healthy again, to be able to continue to use that knowledge," Hill said, "and to ultimately it is to win a World Series and that's the biggest thing.
"Am I chasing a World Series? Yeah I am, and everyone here is chasing a World Series."
About Rich Hill
Age: 40
Size: 6-5, 220
Position: lefthanded starting pitcher
Hometown: Milton, Mass.
College: Michigan
Drafted: Reds, 36th round, 1999; Angels, seventh round, 2001; Cubs, fourth round, 2002 (signed).
Major league teams: Cubs (2005-08), Orioles (2009), Red Sox (2010-12, 2015), Indians (2013), Angels (2014), Yankees (2014), Oakland (2016), Dodgers (2016-2019), Twins (2020).
Career stats: 16 seasons, 289 games, 161 starts, 66-43, 3.82 ERA. In 10 postseason series, 13 games, 1-2, 3.06 ERA.
Oh, no! Hill had a no-hitter going in the 10th inning of a 2017 game that was ruined by a walk-off home run by Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison.
Follow this link:
Complicated elbow repair has Twins' Rich Hill back on the mound - Minneapolis Star Tribune
- Resilient anatomy and local plasticity of naive and stress haematopoiesis - Nature.com - March 26th, 2024
- A Deeper Depth of Response After Salvage Therapy Improves Outcomes of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in ... - Cureus - March 26th, 2024
- Iron restriction keeps blood stem cells young, researchers find - Phys.org - March 18th, 2024
- Blood drive, bone marrow testing to be held in local woman's memory - The Winchester Star - March 18th, 2024
- Signal of Benefit for Stem Cell Therapy in Progressive MS - Medscape - March 10th, 2024
- Woman, 22, With Leukemia Recalls Symptoms And New Treatment She Received: EXCLUSIVE - TODAY - March 10th, 2024
- This Swedish startup wants to reduce the cost, and controversy, around stem cell production - TechCrunch - March 10th, 2024
- Outcomes and prognosis of haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with FLT3-ITD mutated ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- Harmonizing definitions for hematopoietic recovery, graft rejection, graft failure, poor graft function, and donor ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- Hematopoietic cell transplantation and cell therapy activity landscape survey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a report ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- How an MS friendship led to HSCT and a love of running - Multiple Sclerosis News Today - March 10th, 2024
- Iron Limitation Preserves Youthfulness of Blood Stem Cells - Mirage News - March 10th, 2024
- Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis: A retrospective analysis of the ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- AJMC in the Press, February 23, 2024 - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - February 24th, 2024
- Orca Bio Presents Promising Data on Orca-T in Two Oral Presentations at the 2024 Tandem Meetings of ASTCT and ... - Yahoo Finance - February 24th, 2024
- New approaches to live-track the production of different types of blood cells in mice - Medical Xpress - February 24th, 2024
- If Other Treatments Aren't Working -- Stem Cell Transplant May Be A Good Option In CLL - SurvivorNet - February 24th, 2024
- Expanding the Horizons of Cell and Gene Therapy - RegMedNet - February 24th, 2024
- The strangers who saved each others lives - BBC - February 24th, 2024
- City of Hope Research Featuring the Successful Treatment of the Oldest Patient to Achieve Remission for Leukemia ... - StreetInsider.com - February 15th, 2024
- 3D printing and material processing combined to create artificial bone - Optics.org - February 15th, 2024
- Man, 63, is in remission from HIV five years after receiving groundbreaking stem cell transplant... - The Sun - February 15th, 2024
- Team demonstrates fabrication method to construct 3D structures that mimic bone microstructure - Phys.org - February 15th, 2024
- Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Their Role in Development and Disease Therapy - The Scientist - February 15th, 2024
- Blood cell family trees trace how production changes with aging - MIT News - February 7th, 2024
- New study on promising stem cell-based therapy for Crohn's disease - Medical Xpress - January 30th, 2024
- Second haploidentical bone marrow transplantation with antithymocyte antibody-containing conditioning regimen for ... - Nature.com - January 30th, 2024
- Stem cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice - Medical Xpress - January 30th, 2024
- Global Stem Cell Therapy Industry Outlook to 2028, Driven by Therapeutic Innovations and Clinical Advancements ... - Yahoo Finance - January 30th, 2024
- 1st-of-its-kind therapy blocks immune attack after stem-cell transplant - Livescience.com - January 22nd, 2024
- Individualized dose of anti-thymocyte globulin based on weight and pre-transplantation lymphocyte counts in pediatric ... - Nature.com - January 22nd, 2024
- Implications of stress-induced gene expression for hematopoietic stem cell aging studies - Nature.com - January 22nd, 2024
- LVHN announces opening of new stem cell transplant center. Here's what that means for the Lehigh Valley - The Morning Call - January 22nd, 2024
- Fast Five Quiz: Chronic GVHD Risk Factors and Prevention - Medscape Reference - January 22nd, 2024
- Could Treatments for HIV and Sickle Cell Open the Gene Therapy Floodgates? - BioSpace - January 22nd, 2024
- Effects of fine particulate matter on bone marrow-conserved hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells: a systematic ... - Nature.com - January 14th, 2024
- Donating Bone Marrow and Stem Cells: The Process and What To Expect - On Cancer - Memorial Sloan Kettering - January 14th, 2024
- No, Rep. Steve Scalise Didn't Vote Against Stem Cell Research From Which He Is Now Benefiting - Yahoo News - January 14th, 2024
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Market to Grow Rapidly During the Study Period (2019-2032), Evaluates ... - PR Newswire - January 14th, 2024
- Life-saving donation from Philly athlete saves life: 'Feeling so strong, I owe that all to him' - AOL - January 14th, 2024
- The Key to Creating Blood Stem Cells May Lie in Your Own Blood - ScienceAlert - January 14th, 2024
- Dr Phillips on the Rationale for the GLOBRYTE Trial in Relapsed/Refractory MCL - OncLive - January 14th, 2024
- COVID-19 and HSCT Recipients: Risk Factors and Prevention Measures - Medriva - January 14th, 2024
- Bone Marrow Transplant: Heres What You Need To Know About This Therapy - Times Now - January 5th, 2024
- New insights about the development of hematopoietic stem cells - Drug Target Review - December 28th, 2023
- Bone Marrow Transplantation | Johns Hopkins Medicine - December 20th, 2023
- Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant | American Cancer Society - December 20th, 2023
- Embryonic-stem-cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells relieve experimental contact urticaria by regulating the functions ... - Nature.com - December 20th, 2023
- Researchers discover crucial step in creating blood stem cells - Phys.org - December 20th, 2023
- A niche topic: understanding the development of hematopoietic stem cells - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center - December 20th, 2023
- Vertex developed a CRISPR cure. Its already on the hunt for something better. - MIT Technology Review - December 20th, 2023
- FDA approves cure for sickle cell disease, the first treatment to use gene-editing tool CRISPR - NBC News - December 12th, 2023
- First therapy using CRISPR technology will treat sickle cell disease - Morning Brew - December 12th, 2023
- 7 medical breakthroughs that gave us hope in 2023 - National Geographic - December 12th, 2023
- Understanding Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment - Everyday Health - December 12th, 2023
- Mansour bin Zayed witnesses inauguration of ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 - ZAWYA - November 26th, 2023
- ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 to take place in Abu Dhabi - ZAWYA - November 18th, 2023
- Orchard Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Announces Initiation of Rolling Submission for Biologics License Application of... - May 16th, 2023
- Family of 7-month-old in need of bone marrow transplant hosting donor registration event - CBS Pittsburgh - May 8th, 2023
- Anika Continues to Expand Addressable Market for Tactoset Injectable Bone Substitute with Additional 510(k) Clearance from FDA - Marketscreener.com - April 5th, 2023
- MorphoSys Completes Enrollment of Phase 3 MANIFEST-2 Study of Pelabresib in Myelofibrosis with Topline Results Expected by End of 2023 -... - April 5th, 2023
- VOR BIOPHARMA INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 25th, 2023
- BioRestorative Therapies to Seek FDA Approval to Expand the Clinical Application of BRTX-100 - Marketscreener.com - March 17th, 2023
- BioSenic delivers a new post-hoc analysis of its Phase III JTA-004 trial on knee osteo-arthritis with positive action on the most severely affected... - March 17th, 2023
- JASPER THERAPEUTICS, INC. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 9th, 2023
- For a range of unmet medical needs, India offers a fantastic opportunity to push cell and gene therapies: B .. - ETHealthWorld - March 9th, 2023
- NGM BIOPHARMACEUTICALS INC Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 1st, 2023
- Bone health: Tips to keep your bones healthy - Mayo Clinic - January 27th, 2023
- Bone marrow drive held for military wife with cancer - January 27th, 2023
- Bone cancer - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic - January 27th, 2023
- Bone | Definition, Anatomy, & Composition | Britannica - January 19th, 2023
- Bone Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster - January 19th, 2023
- What Is Bone? | NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National ... - January 19th, 2023
- Anatomy of the Bone | Johns Hopkins Medicine - January 19th, 2023
- Bone Health: Is Eating Meat Healthy For Your Bones? - January 19th, 2023
- Bone Keeper | Deepwoken Wiki | Fandom - January 19th, 2023
- With blood and plasma donations in short supply, uniting communities to give the gift of life - Toronto Star - January 3rd, 2023
- Side Effects of a Bone Marrow Transplant (Stem Cell Transplant) - December 25th, 2022
- 28-year-old cancer patient at Nebraska Medicine advocates for diversity in bone marrow registry - KMTV 3 News Now Omaha - December 17th, 2022
- Stem Cell Technologies and Applications Market Report 2022-2032 - Yahoo Finance - December 9th, 2022