Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Scott Boden analyzed the scope of Tiger Woods’ injuries and what his recovery might look like on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” after the golfer’s devastating crash on Tuesday morning.
“We know this because it was an open fracture, which means that the bone penetrated the skin, at least temporarily, and was broken in several places, that it was a very high energy fracture, which makes it a little more difficult for heal, “said the professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine.
Los Angeles County sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods is lucky to be alive after he crashed his SUV into a steep and winding road in Palos Verdes, south of Los Angeles.
Tiger Woods is “awake, responsive and recovering” from long surgery to repair what a doctor called “significant injuries” to his right leg, according to a demonstration launched via its official Twitter account at 12:30 pm ET on Wednesday. It is the golfer’s 10th surgery for 45 years.
Dr. Anish Mahajan, medical director at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said that Woods suffered “comminuted open fractures” in the upper and lower sections of his right leg. To stabilize Woods’ leg, doctors needed to insert a rod, screws and pins into his foot and ankle.
Boden told presenter Shepard Smith that the more information is released about the player’s ankle and foot injuries, the more he will reveal about the recovery time.
“If these injuries involved the smooth articular surface of the bones where they move in the ankle or foot, then that could be a problem with long-term recovery and arthritis and recovery of the full range of motion,” explained Boden in a Wednesday- interview at night.
Boden also noted that “there is a chance of infection”, but that we do not know the size of the skin opening, so “we cannot be sure of that”. He added that while recovery requires persistence, “it is never advisable to exclude Tiger when it comes to a return.”