Greg Oden, of the Portland Trailblazers, will be forced to miss the rest of the NBA season this year. The center, who was the #1 pick in the 2007 draft, has just recievd microfracture surgery of his left knee. Oden received a similar surgery on his right knee during his rookie year, which postponed his professional start.
Microfracture surgery is a treatment for an osteochondral lesion, which is damage to the articular cartilage within a joint. The knee is a common place for these types of injuries to occur, as well as the ankle. The surgery involves making tiny holes in the damaged cartilage, which allows for blood to access the area more easily. This brings in healing and growth factors, which can promote the generation of cartilage in the area. The new cartilage that forms is fibrocartilage, which not quite the same as the hyaline cartilage that forms the cartilage of the joint. However, this fibrocartilage does allow for a more normal range of motion postoperatively, and often can reduce the pain associated with an osteochondral lesion. In podiatry, it is common to see an osteochondral lesion of the talus following an ankle injury, which sometimes may be corrected with microsurgery.
A study out of Drexel University College of Medicine studied NBA players that received microfracture surgery of the knee between 1997and 2006. The study looked at a number of factors, and analyzed the player efficiency ratings (PER) of the NBA players both before and after the surgery. The study found that twenty-percent of the players did not return to the NBA. It also found that of the players that did return, only 17 of 24 players continued to play for more than two years, and that universally all players saw a reduction in their player efficiency rating as well as the number of minutes played.
What will be the fate of Greg Oden following his second microfracture surgery? There’s no way to know for certain, but the NBA is hopeful that he will recover and have a successful career. Certainly he will be able to have a normal life after the surgery, but will his knees be able to withstand the high impact of an NBA player? The high forces placed through the lower extremity during running and jumping, as well as the sheer forces place on the knees during cutting and pivoting moves may prove to be to much for the Portland Trailblazers’ center.
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