Glenoid labral repair in Major League Baseball pitchers

Little is known about outcomes of glenoid labral repair in Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers. We hypothesized that following repair, pitching performance would not be significantly different from an uninjured cohort. Fifty-one pitchers were identified who pitched in at least one MLB game prior to undergoing isolated glenoid labral repair. For the three years prior to and following surgery, demographic and performance variables were analyzed for an association with labral injury and repair, and compared to a control cohort of MLB pitchers without history of repair. Following surgery, 72.5% of pitchers returned to MLB at a mean of 13.1 months with no significant change in performance. Starting pitchers had a higher risk of labral injury requiring repair (p< or =0.05). Pitchers that returned to play averaged more innings pitched in the seasons prior to surgery and had a higher body mass index than those that did not return to play (p< or =0.05). Approximately 70% of MLB pitchers undergoing labral repair can be expected to return to competition postoperatively with no significant change in performance. Starting pitchers are more likely to undergo repair, but pitchers with greater preoperative innings pitched per season have a greater likelihood of returning to play.