The “madness” is over as Louisville claims its title as the NCAA Basketball Champion this year. Last week, however, basketball fans and millions of other television viewers watched in horror as Louisville sophomore guard, Kevin Ware, jumped to block an opponent’s three-point shot and landed awkwardly on his right leg, snapping his tibia and revealing a leg bent at an almost 90-degree angle with about six inches of bone protruding.

Tibia fractures such as Ware’s are more commonly a result of car accidents or falls from a significant height. The presence of a stress fracture of the bone and/or landing awkwardly are possible causes of such a devastating injury in an athlete. Patients who sustain tibia fractures typically take anywhere from three to ten months to make a full recovery.

At University Orthopaedic Associates (UOA), our five fellowship trained trauma specialists have many years of extensive experience in treating traumatic fractures, which are usually caused by vehicle collisions, falling from heights or, as in Ware’s case, a sports injury. Also known as a compound or open fracture, it is extremely important in these traumatic fracture cases that an orthopaedic surgeon see the patient as soon as possible. Surgery is required to clean the injury, both the bone and surrounding wound, to avoid infection. An infection to the bone could lead to serious complications and would prolong recovery time. However, when these fractures do happen with sports injuries, there’s usually less of a risk for contamination to the open wound and subsequent infection.

According to a press release issued by the University of Louisville, Ware “had the bone re-set, the wound from the injury closed and a rod inserted in his right tibia.”* Intramedullary rods (IM rods) secure the alignment of the bone to stabilize the fracture. These rods can be removed if there is a complication, but without complication they are usually left in place for life. This type of surgery is typically performed in an hour to 90 minutes with an incision above the knee joint, another below the knee and one above the ankle. The rod is held in place by screws above and below the fracture.

At UOA we ensure our patients and athletes can return to their activities as quickly as possible through our expert care. The good news for Kevin Ware is that his surgery was successful and he may be able to rejoin the team again next year. In the meantime, he celebrated his team’s victory on the court Monday night and even had the honor of cutting down the net.

Source:

GoCards.com – Ware Has Successful Surgery To Repair Broken Leg