Yao Ming Opts for Pair of Surgeries, Likely to Miss Season

On Friday, Houston Rockets’ center Yao Ming announced that he will opt for a pair of surgeries on his left foot. The news comes following an injury sustained this past playoff season, when the 7-foot 6-inch professional basketball player hobbled off the court with a broken navicular bone.

After several years of aggravating injuries, Ming will undergo a two-part procedure to fix and strengthen the bone. The first surgery will use a bone graft to help regenerate new bone and surgically repair the hairline fracture of the left navicular. The second procedure will involve realigning the bones of the left foot, thereby lowering the arch of the foot and relieving some of the pressure put on the bones. This procedure may involve attaching a plate to the bones using shallow screws. In February 2008, a similar procedure was done using pins to strengthen the area, but subsequent injuries followed.

This pair of surgeries will likely sideline Yao Ming for the entire season. The Houston Rockets, however, have not released an official statement on the timeline of Ming’s return.

“After much thought and reflection, I have decided to have surgery on my left foot,” Yao Ming said in a prepared statement on Friday. “This surgery will allow me to continue my career playing basketball, and I look forward to returning to the court. I would like to thank everyone who sent me their best wishes. I am very grateful to have the support of teammates, friends and fans as I dedicate myself to making a completely successful recovery.”

The surgery that Yao Ming will be undergoing is similar to a surgery performed on Cleveland Cavaliers center Zyndrunas Ilgauskas in 2001. Ilgauskas recovered well from the surgery, and has since made a great impact on his team and in the league, averaging 74.5 games played since 2001.

The surgery will be performed by Rockets team physician, Dr. Tom Clanton. “This combination of procedures should not only allow healing of his navicular stress fracture but also improve the mechanics of his foot to reduce the stress on that bone and give him the best long-term prognosis,” Clanton said in Friday’s statement.

This season will mark the fifth consecutive season that has been either missed, interrupted, or ended early for Yao Ming, all due to bone injuries. Rockets personnel is standing behind their All-Star center, and has requested to the NBA an exception to the disabled player list.

Others say that it’s just not meant to be – that a man that big was not meant to run up and down a basketball court.

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