ESPN Boston: Surgery likely for Rob Gronkowski

[Sean50Lee]

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski "very likely" will require a fourth surgery on his left forearm, this one to remove the plate inserted in the arm in order to ensure an infection has been eradicated, two sources told ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss.

If another surgery is required, the estimate for a recovery would be about 10 weeks. Depending on when the surgery can be performed, which would be determined by whether the infection is completely eradicated, Gronkowski's availability for the start of the 2013 season could be affected. Read More Here http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...very-likely-forearm-plate-removed-sources-say

 

[Eskimo]

A couple of odd things to me here.

One is it is quite unusual for such an infection to recur with swelling and discharge while on IV antibiotics.

The second is that there seems to be an implication that the fracture is still not healed with the insinuation they may need to re-insert a plate. That is a long time for a forearm fracture not to have healed. He broke it Nov 18 so that is about 5 months now. More commonly by this stage I would think the hardware could be removed and the fracture should have healed sufficiently not to require more hardware implanation.

The problem with plates is they are a foreign body and it can be very hard to eradicate infection when hardware is present as the bacteria can adhere itself to the hardware and become near impossible to eradicate.

It sounds like something has gone horribly wrong here for the kid. It is a shame because he is such a talented player.

 

[jobberone]

Smells like osteomyelitis to me. Hope he doesn't have a resistant bug.

But it could just be they need to look while removing the hardware. Not sure why but we don't know very much here to go on.

 

[BAZ]

Thank God they have a couple of injurey free back up's to step into his no.1 roll

 

[Little Jr]

He might want to stop the partying and stage diving. Antibiotics don't do any good when you are chasing them with alcohol

 

[ROUSH8692]

Wow. I didn't know we had so many licensed physicians on CowboysZone.......

:sarcasm:

 

[MonsterD]

Wow. I didn't know we had so many licensed physicians on CowboysZone.......

:sarcasm:

Eskimo is.

 

[Staggerlee]

Eskimo is.

/discussion :laugh2:

 

[Phrozen Phil]

Smells like osteomyelitis to me. Hope he doesn't have a resistant bug.

But it could just be they need to look while removing the hardware. Not sure why but we don't know very much here to go on.

I talked to my wife (nurse) about this and she wondered the same thing. He may have to adjust his lifestyle as well. He seems to have a certain "zest" for life that might not make him a great patient. I hope he recovers without further complication.

 

[Nation]

That is a long time for a forearm fracture not to have healed. He broke it Nov 18 so that is about 5 months now. More commonly by this stage I would think the hardware could be removed and the fracture should have healed sufficiently not to require more hardware implanation.

He broke it a second time in the divisional round playoff game against Houston as well.

 

[visionary]

A couple of odd things to me here.

One is it is quite unusual for such an infection to recur with swelling and discharge while on IV antibiotics.

The second is that there seems to be an implication that the fracture is still not healed with the insinuation they may need to re-insert a plate. That is a long time for a forearm fracture not to have healed. He broke it Nov 18 so that is about 5 months now. More commonly by this stage I would think the hardware could be removed and the fracture should have healed sufficiently not to require more hardware implanation.

The problem with plates is they are a foreign body and it can be very hard to eradicate infection when hardware is present as the bacteria can adhere itself to the hardware and become near impossible to eradicate.

It sounds like something has gone horribly wrong here for the kid. It is a shame because he is such a talented player.

the infection will delay (or even prevent) the healing

sounds like they will need to operate to remove the infected hardware, then wait for the infection to resolve (with antibiotics) and then likely do another surgery once infection clears up (if the fracture is not healed)

bad news no matter how you slice it

 

[joseephuss]

He broke it a second time in the divisional round playoff game against Houston as well.

Yep, which was played January 13th. That makes it 2 1/2 months ago.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...ronkowski-has-no-surgery-scheduled-agent-says

Rob Gronkowski has no surgery scheduled, agent says

The Boston Herald reported Sunday that a "stubborn" infection in Rob Gronkowski's broken left forearm might keep the tight end out of action for the beginning of the regular season.

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport cautioned, however, that an additional surgery is not set in stone, and Gronkowski's camp still is considering all options.

Agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed as much to WSVN-TV in Miami on Sunday night. Rosenhaus emphasized that any speculation about Gronkowski missing regular-season action is "way off," and no determinations have been made on a fourth procedure.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen," Rosenhaus said. "There's no surgery scheduled, and we're not sure he's going to need one."

 

[FootballFan1]

Love the guy, and is an amazing player. He is 22, give the guy a break already. He wants to have fun in life, well, so did I at his age. So what??? I certainly am not going to criticize him for that -- nope. My only issue with the Pats is bringing him back too soon. Big mistake in my opinion.

I read somewhere (actually many times) where people go into hospitals and never come out because of all of these resistant "bugs". Scary stuff for all of us to think about. One of the biggest problems of people going into hospitals.

My mother is in a nursing home and they had a scare because of a flu issue going through the home. They quarantined the whole home and would not allow certain floors to even leave their rooms. This is all scary stuff.

We need to stop taking antibiotics unless you really need them. Otherwise more of this is going to happen. Have a cold, get over it, and do not take them. Only if you are really going to need them. I have done some reading on this subject, and it is really scary. People asking for them when they have a cold, well, get over it already and deal with it.

Read the internet, it is kind of scary about how these drugs are overused for every little thing. And these "bugs" have a way to change and figure out how to get us anyway. And become resistant.

Have a cold, deal with it. Have the flu, deal with it.

So sorry to see this young man having to deal with this. Seriously, check out the internet and see how many people are dying simply by going to the hospital, and dealing with these "resistant" bugs. Better to die at home it seems -- in many cases.

Darn, these little "bugs" have a way to survive, in spite of all of our efforts. This really is becoming a problem. Me, I will take my chances at home before showing at some hospital that is supposed to be helping me. I think in my lifetime I have only taken antibiotics twice in my life. So I hope if this ever happens to me, they will work.

All scary stuff, but my message I think is clear. Your body adjusts, and will learn. Use antibiotics carefully.

Hope the medical industry figures this all out, but to me this is becoming a serious problem. Just my thoughts. And hope the Gronk comes out of this a better player than he already was. Here is to you Gronk ----

 

[WoodysGirl]

Wow. I didn't know we had so many licensed physicians on CowboysZone.......

:sarcasm:

Eskimo is.

And I believe jobber was a doc, but is retired now.

/discussion :laugh2:

 

[CyberB0b]

Surgical infections scare the crap out of me. This is pretty serious, IMO.