The Astros on Thursday announced that righthander Brandon Backe underwent successful surgery on his pitching elbow. The procedure, referred to as "Tommy John" surgery, was done to reconstruct Backe's ulnar collateral ligament. The operation was performed by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama. The 28-year-old Backe, who had been plagued by elbow problems all season, is expected to be sidelined for at least 12 months.