Time to Return to Play After Arthroscopic Elbow Osteocapsular Arthroplasty in Professional and Elite Baseball Players

Although many reports have described the outcomes of elbow arthroscopic procedures in athletes, a literature review did not identify any study on the outcomes of arthroscopic osteocapsular arthroplasty in baseball players.

To evaluate the clinical outcomes of elite and professional baseball players who underwent arthroscopic elbow osteocapsular arthroplasty to treat degenerative arthritis.

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Of 421 elite and professional baseball players who underwent arthroscopic elbow spur resection between January 2007 and March 2023, the study included 17 for whom spurs were removed from both the anterior and posterior compartments. After surgery, players who participated in at least 1 officially recognized game were considered to exhibit return to play (RTP). Players who participated in >10 official games were considered to evidence "solid" return to play (sRTP). The RTP and sRTP rates were analyzed according to player position and the time to RTP after surgery. The average duration of competition after surgery but before retirement was also investigated.

Of the 17 baseball players (mean age, 26.2 years), 13 were pitchers, 2 were catchers, and 2 were fielders. The RTP and sRTP rates of pitchers were 92.3% and 84.6%, respectively; the values were all 100% for both catchers and fielders. The overall RTP and sRTP rates were 94.1% and 88.2%, respectively. The mean time to RTP after surgery was 7.9 months (8.3, 7.5, and 6 months for pitchers, catchers, and fielders, respectively). The mean time to retirement was 4.4 years; 8 players still compete.

Arthroscopic elbow osteocapsular arthroplasty demonstrated a favorable sRTP rate of 88.2% in elite and professional baseball players with degenerative arthritis.