Expectations of a speedy recovery for Tiger Woods after his car accident are far from reality. This is attested to by several doctors specializing in the serious injuries suffered by the 15-time major winner.
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center medical director Anish Mahajan provided details Tuesday night about Tiger’s injuries and surgery. Woods’ right leg apparently bore the brunt of the impact and, as a result, a rod was placed in his tibia. The wound was open, meaning Tiger’s bone went through the skin. His right ankle was also broken.
In addition, a fasciotomy had to be performed to “relieve pressure due to swelling.” This means that Woods’ soft tissue injury was severe and there was concern for something called compartment syndrome. If this pressure begins to build up due to swelling, it can lead to “irreversible muscle and tissue damage” or even loss of a limb. Therefore, the sheath surrounding his muscles had to be cut to relieve this pressure and will likely be left open for several days.
Dr. Michael Zuri, a doctor specializing in sports injuries, also explained the severity of what Woods suffered. “He’s going to have multiple surgeries over the next week or two,” Zuri said. “This is definitely life-threatening in nature. Do I think he’ll lose his leg? Probably not… The next week is crucial. Infection is a major concern….. I would say a month is when you’ll know what’s going on, provided he doesn’t have a bone infection or a soft-tissue complication.”
The encouraging thing is that, in the absence of infection, it’s not crazy to think that Tiger could return to a normal life. But getting back to playing golf at an elite level? It’s almost completely out of the question.
“Even if the leg heals, all the bones heal, everything heals, he’s going to be dealing with arthritis from this,” Zuri said. “These types of ankle crush injuries, if it’s the ankle that’s also broken, have a high rate of arthritis over a five-year period. He’s likely to need an ankle arthroplasty next year and probably surgery in 10 years. This is going to be very, very long for him. These types of multiple leg traumas are just devastating.”
“Learning to walk will be a big step forward,” added Dr. Agus, a USC professor of medicine who was interviewed Wednesday on CBS Sports HQ. “Obviously, this is Tiger Woods. He’s going to recover from this. He’s going to do a lot more than walk, but it’s going to take time.”
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