Dodgers saved by LA-based surgeons work on Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell

When Tarik Skubal was told a month into the season that he would have to get a bone chip removed from his left elbow, he expected the worst.Skubal braced himself for the possibility of missing three months – maybe more.“Crushed me,” he said.Out of nowhere, Skubal received season-altering news.Dr.Neal ElAttrache, the renowned Los Angeles-based surgeon who has operated on everyone from Kobe Bryant to Tom Brady, said he could perform a procedure using a camera the size of a pinhead.

Because that camera, or scope, wouldn’t be any more invasive than, say, an injection, ElAttrache explained that his recovery time would be drastically reduced.“I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely,’” Skubal said.“I didn’t even need to hear anything else.”There was one caveat: ElAttrache had never used the equipment on a high-profile athlete.Nine days after the operation, Skubal was playing catch.

About four weeks after that, he was pitching in a game.But ElAttrache did more than save Skubal’s season. He might have also saved the Dodgers’ season.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story About two weeks after he operated on Skubal, ElAttrache performed a more complicated procedure using the NanoNeedle Scope 2.0 on Blake Snell. Skubal was later traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Dodgers.Without ElAttrache’s groundbreaking surgery, the Dodgers might not have two of their top three starting pitchers, and they certainly wouldn’t have the two two-time Cy Young Award winners pitching as well as they are now.“Those solutions are a product of the genius of a doctor who has certainly proven to be Hall-of-Fame worthy,” said agent Scott Boras, who represents both pitchers.Skubal estimated the surgery cost him only five starts.He pitched in 31 games in each of the last two se...