How Will Phoenix Suns’ Dario Saric Be Preparing For Surgery?
How Will Phoenix Suns’ Dario Saric Be Preparing For Surgery? https://phoenixspineandjoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/omfyjhyokrtdmu8vjt4l-min-1024x576.jpg 1024 576 Phoenix Spine & Joint https://phoenixspineandjoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/omfyjhyokrtdmu8vjt4l-min-1024x576.jpgDario Saric suffered an ACL injury during Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Phoenix Suns – Milwaukee Bucks series. Here is the rundown of what to expect as Saric recovers and how you can prepare if you sustain this injury.
An ACL reconstruction is a primary surgery to address one’s knee instability. The type of surgery is dictated by a surgeon’s experience, associated knee injuries (cartilage, bone bruise, meniscus, etc.) while accounting for your medical history.
Because of the surgery advancements, many will return to their prior level of play and even better sometimes, said Dr. Leah Brown, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine knee injuries.
“This is an injury that people recover from and get back to full activity, but it does take anywhere from six to nine months on average,” Brown said.
Saric’s ACL injury extent is unknown, but still, there are pre-operative goals all should try to obtain: the ability to straighten the knee, minimal swelling, and the ability to perform a straight leg raise.
“Each situation is a little different, but most times in uncomplicated ACL tear, you want to wait for the swelling to go down, and then you go in and perform the ACL reconstruction,” Brown said.
“However, there are circumstances where that is not the case — particularly if there is an associated meniscus tear, a loose body – things that need more urgent intervention, then you intervene on a sooner than later basis.”
After surgery, each person’s weight-bearing status may vary depending on the other associated symptoms. For instance, one with an isolated ACL injury may be walking sooner than one who has had to repair their meniscus as well.
“What determines someone’s outcome is the other associated injuries,” she said. “Often, they don’t occur in isolation — there is a meniscus tear or a cartilage injury.”
“And the state of someone’s cartilage really is going to determine how they do in the long term. So if they have a lot of arthritis, they may have a little more arthritic-type symptoms (pain, swelling, stiffness) but a stable knee.
Saric will return. But when? No one knows quite yet. After surgery, how he does with his rehabilitation progression will be the deciding factor.
