http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6540492.html Rockets center Yao Ming underwent surgery Tuesday morning to repair the hairline fracture in his left foot and another to realign the bones in the foot. The realignment procedure was done to prevent the reoccurrence of the injury that has ended his past two NBA seasons. Rockets team physician Dr. Tom Clanton, assisted by Dr. Bill McGarvey at the Memorial Hermann Sports Medicine Institute, used a bone graft in the tarsal navicular bone to help repair the fracture. The realignment of the bones in the foot flattened Yao’s arch to reduce the stress on the repaired bone. “Everything went according to plan and we were able achieve not only fixation of the broken bone, but also realignment of the bones to improve the stress pattern on his foot,” Clanton said. “Yao is doing well and resting comfortably after these procedures. We expect him to be immobilized in a cast and using crutches for at least six to eight weeks.” The Rockets did not provide any timetable for Yao’s return to basketball-oriented workouts or competition, but they do expect him to participate in the 2010 training camp. A seven-time All-Star, Yao has averaged 19.1 points on 52.5 percent shooting in his career, adding 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots. In the playoffs, he has averaged 19.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in 28 games. Expected to miss the 2009-10 season, he’ll have had five consecutive seasons interrupted or ended by bone injuries. Thank god...let make the best of this season..and then pick up in 2010! Pending a major splash in the 2010 free agent market! Go ROckets.! and enjoyy
What bothers me about this surgery is this: shouldn't they be doing the same flattening of the arch in his other foot? I know there is nothing wrong with it at present, but over time having a different arch in each foot seems like it would cause many other structural problems. Back pains, leg strength differences, etc. Maybe if he responds and heals quickly from this one they should do the same procedure to the other foot in a couple of months.
Don't fix what's not broken. His other foot seems strong enough; didn't really have any problems. If you have surgery on both feet, it doesn't necessary heal at the same time. I had a car accident when I was young and broke both my femur(leg) bones and it healed differently. Therefore, my one leg is noticeably longer than the other (maybe like 3cm).
he is only going to be on crutches for 6-8 weeks?..that would mean he will be walking withouht a boot or anything in September??...what then...does he start rehabbing...when Yao said that he could begin rehabbing a few weeks later and begin basketball activities within 6 months, seems likely...i thought he would be on crutches for like 3-4 months....maybe he recovers faster than rockets expected...he set a goal to be doing bball activiteis in 6 months...lets hope he is right...
He needs to go...S ......L.......O........W........... The Rockets need him to get all the way healed for once. DD
Human's are not perfectly symmetrical. Chances are, your right nostril is larger and your left eye is a half cm lower than your right eye -- something that everyone notices, but you.
i agree...but if he is completely healed 100%, whenever that might be, then why not...I know Yao has set a goal of 6 months (which might be too optimistic) but I need to be optimistic to get me thru next season...you never know..he could heal quickly!!
I really feel Yao needs a shoe that should be specially constructed with a lot of scientific thought. Of course he needs to slow down, no more summer bull crap ,we should rotate more players, and we got a coach that I think is willing to do that (at least for the season). I feel this is preventable by a custom made shoe, not some cheap attempt- an effort that should not be held back/limited in some way by some business contract- hes got to realize that this is his life!..... Anybody know details about his previous shoe?
Unless you are Grace Kelly who had a nearly symmetrical face.... I am wondering about that other foot also. I suppose it would have been counterproductive to fix something that hasn't had issues. It would be awesome to see him start rehabbing by the end of the summer, but I would imagine most all of his early stuff will be no/low impact... probably won't be able to do regular stuff until early next spring. (giving him his 6 months timetable)
He can but the real question is, do we want him to play more than 30 minutes a game, especially with the rotation of minutes... Do we want to see Rick continue to have Yao play 14-15 minutes straight before 1 rest? Is Rick going to go back to the old 8 minutes. Can the Rockets win games with Yao playing only 28-30 minutes per game? Can the Rockets afford to sit him out back to back games? Is Yao going to continue to bang in the post or change his game a little? A lot of questions, I just know he can't continue at his same pace. Sure he could play 34 minutes but why risk it, save him for the playoffs. Even than, it won't guarantee he won't get hurt. We all focus on his feet but lets face it, there could be many other injuries that causes a player to miss games.
Isn't that why they reconstructed his feet? I might be wrong, but they reconstructed his feet so he can be able to play 35 minutes a game.
They reconstructed his feet hoping it won't lead to another break, not to increase playing time. Look at his career His 1st 3 seasons (when he played 82,82,80), he averaged 30 minutes a game. His last 4 seasons(injury years), he averaged 34.5 minutes a game (note @ one point he was averaging 37 minutes for 1 season) Obviously increasing minutes as of right now isn't looking good. If anything Yao should be playing 30-31 minutes per game @ less games (65-70). Not 35 minutes a game and expecting him to play 82 games. If reduce minutes = better chance for Yao to survive a playoff run, than go with that. No point in being #1 seed, if your best big man can't make it to the playoffs or through it. Especially if you know Rockets won't trade him. We are going to have to live with him till 2011, better make the most of it.
yao needs to take it very slow. if hes fully healed in 6 months or 12 months, whatever. but take his time. what the team needs to do is have precautionary extensive tests on yao every 2 weeks for the rest of his career. just to be safe.
Nah, let's rush him back in time to for him to join a 3rd League besides the NBA and the China team - maybe a volley ball league, just to get that foot going again...
You forgot about practice times. Morey said that he and Rick have restricted Yao's practice because he worked way too much. So, I don't see the extra 5 minutes actually being the problem, especially if you cut out Yao's practice routine by more than 30 minutes a day. I'm sure they reconstructed his feet to not have another break, which would mean he could play more. Not having another break and having increased playing time goes together.
The surgery is not making a X-men. The surgery is to fix the problem and hopefully the foot problem won't occur
That would be sick tho. Yao has Wolverine toenails and stabs anybody who tries to bully him in the paint. Okay, I'll stop. Sorry.
