Cardinals Star Albert Pujols has Ulnar Transposition Surgery
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols had surgery on his right elbow to relieve severe cubital tunnel syndrome. Pujols’ operation was performed by Cardinals team physician Dr. George Paletta. The surgery included decompression and transposition of the ulnar nerve, but did not require reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament as was initially feared.
Pujols will begin rehab this week and should resume light baseball activities within three months, according to Paletta. "I would not describe it as a big-deal procedure," Paletta said during a teleconference Monday. Easy for him to say, he’s not the one with a sore elbow! Paletta called the nerve "clearly irritated and inflamed." Before surgery, the nerve popped out of its groove whenever Pujols tried to straighten the elbow. The cubital tunnel syndrome caused pain in Pujols elbow and tingling and numbness in Pujols’ right pinky and ring finger. This is not the first instance of cubital tunnel syndrome in Major League Baseball or even on the Cardinals team. Cardinals reliever Kyle McClellan required ulnar nerve transposition surgery in 2007, as did Cardinals reliever, Russ Springer, in 2003. Discuss this article in our forums Related posts:
Important: This website is for information purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The information on this website represents the personal experience of cubital tunnel patients and has not been certified by medical professionals. Each person and case is different. Be sure to seek medical advice from a doctor with experience treating cubital tunnel syndrome and get a second opinion if needed.
