Can someone with a partial UCL tear go without surgery indefinitely?!

Can someone with a partial UCL tear go without surgery indefinitely?

I have been diagnosed with a partial tear of my Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) in my right (dominant arm). The doctor who diagnosed it thinks that in my case the UCL reconstruction surgery might not work because I had my radial heads removed as a child so they are not there to support my UCL. He thinks it will just wear out again if I get it reconstructed, he suggested using the other arm more. In the meantime I have been having pain in the arm, occassional swelling, and numbness radiating down to my fingers. Can I just ignore the tear or will it continually get worse? Should I consider having the surgery even though it might fail? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This is a tough call. Most surgeons avoid joint reconstruction on younger people (like knee replacements) because they do wear out after 15 years or so. Have you had a consultation with a physical therapist? There may be some exercises you can do to help the tear heal. After it's healed, it probably would be a good idea to avoid putting excess strain on it, and for this reason it would be a good idea to learn to use your left arm and hand more often. The only really hard part about using your non-dominant hand is in handwriting, which you can save for your right hand. Good luck!