Orthopedist Dr. James Andrews suspends Tommy John surgeries amid coronavirus outbreak
Popular orthopedist Dr. James Andrews won’t be performing any Tommy John elbow surgeries in Florida for a while.
A spokesperson for his medical facility in Gulf Breeze confirmed the news with the Boston Globe on Monday.
“We are not performing any non-urgent or nonemergent procedures, including Tommy John surgery, in compliance with the governor’s executive order,” the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine spokesperson wrote. ”We are adhering to these restrictions and all such cases are suspended at this time.”
The decision to temporarily suspend procedures follows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order from March 20 which banned “any medically unnecessary, nonurgent or nonemergency procedure or surgery which, if delayed, does not place a patient’s immediate health, safety, or well-being at risk, or will, if delayed, not contribute to the worsening of a serious or life-threatening medical condition.”
Andrews is one of the most well-known surgeons in the orthopedic business. Some of his past patients include from Allen Iverson, Roger Clemens and Peyton Manning, according to ESPN.
The coronavirus pandemic, however, hasn’t slowed down other operations. New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery last Thursday in West Palm Beach. Boston Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale had the same procedure in Los Angeles on Monday, according to ESPN.
Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who operated on Syndergaard, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the pitcher’s surgery was essential.
“I know that I’m going to get criticized for taking care of these kinds of guys, but it’s essential to their livelihoods,” ElAttrache said last Tuesday. “If you have somebody’s career at stake and they lose two seasons instead of one, I would say that is not a nonessential or unimportant elective procedure.”
Sale’s surgery comes as surprise considering California had the third highest number of confirmed cases at 7,425 as of Tuesday afternoon, a New York Times chart shows. Florida, meanwhile has roughly 6,338 confirmed cases.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 3:20 PM.
