Amare out four months Suns star has microfracture procedure on left knee Paul Coro The Arizona Republic Oct. 11, 2005 The Suns received devastating news this morning regarding their All-Star big man. Suns star Amaré Stoudemire’s arthroscopic surgery evolved into a microfracture procedure on his left knee this morning, according to his manager. Team physician and orthopedic surgeon Thomas Carter found Stoudemire’s cartilage damage to be more severe than anticipated. Stoudermire’s manager, Rodney Rice, said the power forward is expected be out for four months because of the surgery. “It was better to do the microfracture now instead of chancing that the lesion would grow, which might affect Amaré down the road,” said Rice, who was in the room during this morning’s scope. “It was best to do the procedure now.” Suns fans remember how microfracture surgery greatly changed the game of Penny Hardaway but Rice said Stoudemire should not be as adversely affected because he is having the operation at a younger age and at a time when the lesion is smaller. During a microfracture, holes are drilled into the bone. The cells then come up with the blood through the holes and form into cartilage. “He’s got a lot of things in his favor to come back in a strong way,” Rice said.
Horrible news. There wasn't a better player in the game last May. Apparently there are two types of microfracture operations, one involving the weight-bearing part of the knee, and one that doesn't. It seems Kidd had his on the non-weight-bearing part, which is why he was able to return to form ... while Penny and all the rest had the other kind. Perhaps someone with an IQ over 12 can help me to explain this further.
This is terrible news. The track record for microfracture surgeries are very sketchy. I want to beat Amare and the Suns, but I'd rather beat a full strength Amare and the Suns. Here's hoping he comes back healthy.
I am huge Rox fan, but please do not try to put a positive spin on the news. Amare is one the brightest stars in the game. Basketball is better because of him. Nobody wants to have this happen to them and no Rockets fan wants the Rox to win by default.
Let's hope for the best for Amare. It will be tough on the Suns. They have high hopes coming into this season. Now, does this mean we are undisputed #2 in WC at this point.
Micro-fracture surgery is a desperate attempt to replace lost cartilage, and would only be done if an area of the articulating surface has virtually no cartilage left. The procedural results are minimal at best. If all goes perfectly, the patient will develop a thin film of cartilage (in reality, it's mostly scar tissue pretending to be cartilage) after a period of several months. This is good enough for regular day life or to permit smooth motion in the joint (-->this is where the non-weight bearing part comes in). The chances of it being good enough to act as a shock absorber for pro-basketball jumping and pounding is nill. Almost all basketball players destroy the cartilage in their knees over the course of their career. When a player has a routine scope to clean out cartilage.....that cartilage doesn't come back. In worst case scenarios, you end up with a Tim Hardaway or Jamal Mashburn playing with bone-to-bone knees. I won't even try to describe that pain. Here's hoping that Stoudamire will be okay. But the list of microfracture patients is pretty scary (also includes Webber and Houston). Evan
*cough Tim Duncan *cough Come on, Amare was a tremendous finisher on the pick and roll. And that's pretty much it. San Antonio was content to guard the perimer and pretty much left Duncan out on an island on the pick and roll. Amare was a tremendous athlete who is now at risk to become a mediocre player if he doesn't get his athelticism back. P.S. - Anyone that laughs at Yao and disses him gets no sympathy from me.
Thanks for the info. What a loss then, the explosiveness of Amare is entertaining to watch. This explains why Webber doesnt jump as much as before. If Amare is reduced to a Webber type elbow shooter after recovery, that is a pitty. I guess this type of injury has to do with wear and tear. Is there any preventive measure that can be done to a player?
Well aware of Timbo's presence, and I thought Amare outplayed him in that series. It wasn't by much, to be sure, but I thought Amare had the edge.
No postive spin on the news, and I am very sorry for Amare. Still, not informing the team of this prior to signing a HUGE contract is despicable.
I hope he gets healthy. And I hope that Yao destroys him after he gets healthy. About microfracture surgery: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007255.htm
I don't know all the details, but if he knew about the problem for a while already, and just decided to delay making it known until after he signed the big contract... something is not right. But I think they would have done the same contract anyway.
Exactly. If Yao was injured Sun's fans would not feel bad for us at all (most, not all), so I don't feel extremely bad for them. Injuries are a part of the game. I do feel a bit bad for them but I want Houston to win, period.
I believe articles said is was a "nagging" problem with his knee, which I would suspect gave Amare valid reason to be concerned prior to the contract signing. I am torn on the "self interest" thing. Yeah - it would be hard not to take the money, but it's still a crappy thing to do to your team.
But then, how did he develop the injury? I wouldnt use "despicable". I can understand why he or his agent didnt tell about it before signing if they had idea about the injury.
like emjohn said microfracture surgery is a vain attempt at cartilage regeneration. The arthroscopic surgical procedure is fairly simple as they put holes (roughly 1/7 - 1/8" deep ) in the exposed bone at the joint to allow blood cells to enter to form new cartilage (naturally occuring stem cells.) Even if the procedure is successful, not a lot of people can come back at full strength. The younger the patient, the higher chance of success. I think it will definitely have a big impact on his game. Start camping at the arch to play it safe
This sucks for the Suns this season, and for the NBA for years to come if Amare becomes the new Chris Webber. Have you guys seen the Sun's depth chart at the power positions? Kurt Thomas, Brian Grant, Pat Burke, and Paul Shirley. They might as well move Marion back to PF, start Kurt Thomas at C, Jim Jackson at SF, and Raja Bell at SG, Nash could keep them at .500 until Amare comes back. Not the new Chris Webber, he's the new Antonio McDyess.
