Lindsey Vonn has a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries following her crash and fall on Sunday, Feb. 8, when she was airlifted for medical treatment.
Vonn said the complex tibia fracture had no relation to a previous ACL injury she suffered. Additionally, she said in a long, heartfelt Instagram post that she has ‘no regrets’ about her decision to compete. It sounds like a nightmare for Vonn, who just recently returned from a torn ACL injury she suffered during a downhill event on Jan. 30. Again, her focus shifts to recovery and rehab.
What is a complex tibia fracture?
So, what’s a complex tibia fracture? Exactly how it sounds, complex.
It’s described as a traumatic injury involving multiple breaks in a bone and damaged soft tissue, according to the Yale School of Medicine. Surgery often involves surgeons who specialize in orthopedic trauma.
The tibia is the second largest bone in the human body. It’s what we call the shin.
Fractures are labeled ‘complex” when the bone breaks into bits and pieces, when the soft tissue surrounding the bone is severely damaged, or when the patient has other illnesses or injuries that complicate treatment and healing, according to Dr. Natalie Casemyr, assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation at Yale Medicine.
Such injuries typically occur from car accidents, or in Vonn’s case a high-speed downhill ski crash, are of a different magnitude. The injury could have shattered or broke multiple bones in several places, Casemyr says on the Yale Medicine website.
Can Vonn recover from the injury?
Recovery is possible, however it can complicated sometimes.
“All the doctors involved have to work together to figure out the timing of surgical procedures and how to safely move the patient forward in treatment,’ Casemyr says on the website.
Still, it’s standard that such injuries require multiple surgeries, Casemyr says, adding they may be ‘done in several stages’ and sometimes multiple procedures can be done at the same time.