Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn has revealed the severity of her injury at the Milan Cortina Olympics, stating that her doctor saved her leg from amputation after a devastating crash during the women’s downhill event.
Lindsey Vonn, the renowned Olympic skier, has spoken out about the severity of her injury at the Milan Cortina Olympics, crediting her doctor with saving her leg from amputation after a devastating crash during the women’s downhill event. In an Instagram video, Vonn explained the details of the leg injury she sustained in the crash on February 8, which included multiple fractures in her left leg and a diagnosis of compartment syndrome.
The discovery of Vonn’s compartment syndrome forced an emergency surgical procedure called a fasciotomy, which took six hours to complete. Connective tissue is “filleted” to release tension and pressure on muscles, blood vessels, and nerves within the area. Vonn credited her doctor, Tom Hackett, with saving her leg from amputation, stating, “Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated.”
In addition to a torn ACL and various tibia and fibula fractures, Vonn also broke her right ankle. She hopes to move to crutches in a few weeks and expects it to take a year for the bone fractures to heal, which will then allow her to continue with ACL reconstruction. Vonn’s focus before the opening weekend run was on her torn ACL, but she credits that knee injury with allowing her to avoid amputation.
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