What is a comminuted open fracture?
Doctors explain Tiger Woods' leg injuries
USA Today,
by
Chris Bumbaca
Original Article
Posted By: earlybird,
2/24/2021 4:19:39 PM
Tiger Woods escaped a Tuesday morning car accident with his life, but suffered "significant" leg injuries that required extensive surgery and a rod being inserted into his lower right leg.
Woods suffered "comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower tibia and fibula" said Dr. Anish Mahajan, interim CEO and chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Hospital, where Woods was taken to the trauma center and treated.
"Comminuted" means there were multiple fragments of the tibia and fibula shattering, ESPN injury analyst Stephania Bell said on the network Wednesday morning. "Open fractures" are otherwise known as compound fractures, meaning the bone has protruded through the skin."This is all badness,"
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Gruntmedic 2/24/2021 4:40:49 PM (No. 707126)
The bow is sticking out thru the muscle
You can see the bone.
Bad ju ju.
He still can have a fat embolism which is usually deadly.
With him ankle he fubared.
Long rehab and probably no more golf.
6 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Highlander 2/24/2021 4:42:28 PM (No. 707127)
With all that, I would put my clubs in the garage and call it a good life. He’s got enough money for the rest of his life if he’s careful.
8 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
red1066 2/24/2021 5:05:02 PM (No. 707144)
Between his back and now his legs, Tiger will never play competitive golf again. He might play golf, but it will be for fun, not championships. I suspect once he heals, his efforts might shift to helping his son become the next Tiger.
7 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Italiano 2/24/2021 5:40:46 PM (No. 707174)
My leg started killing me three paragraphs in. Pass.
Get well soon, Tiger.
10 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
oldmagnolia 2/24/2021 5:46:10 PM (No. 707177)
I think that Tiger's golf days are over. He can contribute to the game in many other ways.
6 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
earlybird 2/24/2021 5:46:48 PM (No. 707179)
Comminuted = crushed, shredded. Splintered. Not a clean break.
And they haven’t even had time to assess the effect on his back, recently operated upon for the 5th time.
5 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Vaquero45 2/24/2021 5:49:17 PM (No. 707180)
His days as a professional golfer are at an end. Rehab and fracture healing will take six months. He’ll have a lot of titanium in his leg and ankle. His range of motion will be reduced, and he’ll know it’s going to rain before the weatherman knows.
4 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
lakerman1 2/24/2021 6:05:51 PM (No. 707189)
As a survivor of 7 back surgeries, 4 of which are fusions, a broken right distal fibula as a young man in Weisbaden, Germany, where a bouncer at a night club hit me with a sap, and I broke his jaw with my foot, then a compound fracture of tibia and fibula, left leg, fell while deer hunting as an old man, I believe Tiger will have to sell his soul to the devil to continue to play golf..
But I will continue to deer hunt.
6 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
bighambone 2/24/2021 6:11:34 PM (No. 707197)
Unfortunately for Tiger Woods, a most likely unfamiliar motor vehicle + an unfamiliar road + speed+ and probably a dose of painkiller medicine for his prior back injuries stacked up against him that morning. In hindsight would have been much better if he had hired a professional chauffer from the area to drive him around.
Tiger has made big comebacks in the past, hopefully he is starting another, but with his age and the amount of body dexterity needed to be successful playing professional grade golf it will certainly be a hard road. Wish him the best of luck.
4 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
jinx 2/24/2021 6:12:46 PM (No. 707199)
I am so sorry to hear that his leg and ankle are broken. I pray for him to have a full recovery. He is so well-liked by the golf community that one day he will do something else. Maybe he will teach or write a book or two or become a sports newscaster. I hope he does not just go away as he has much to contribute to the world of golf. Get well soon, Tiger!!!!
9 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
OK state mom 2/24/2021 10:09:20 PM (No. 707343)
It's the ankle/foot that will cause the long term pain. It will affect his gait, cause a limp, put more stress on his back. He has several short term hurdles: fat embolism, pulmonary embolism, bone infection among them. Pain control with history of opioid addiction will be tough. I don't envy his nurses.
3 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
OK state mom 2/24/2021 10:11:30 PM (No. 707344)
Not to mention compartmental syndrome despite the fasciotomy.
2 people like this.
Wishing him well. He has kids so I wish the media would back off.
They said there had been 13 accidents there. Why wasn't there a guard rail ?
2 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
ramona 2/25/2021 8:30:17 AM (No. 707666)
Due to a fall on frosty grass, all 3 bones in my right ankle were smashed to bits. I was told at the time that I would eventually need an ankle replacement and that happened 2 years later, after incredible pain (the cartilage was gone). I can walk and stand but my balance is off and I don't have full movement of the new ankle. This is not a complaint, just to say that Tiger has a very long road ahead with multiple surgeries and rehab. I wish him well and hope that he will be able to re-envision his life with a new purpose and new goals.
Ramona (the Pest)
2 people like this.
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This is a detailed article, much of the detail provided by the surgeon who performed the operation on his leg, ankle and foot. A mess.