[Point Forward Podcast] “It was the worst decision I had made in my life.” Microfracture knee surgery ended the primes of several stars, including Penny Hardaway, Tracy McGrady, and Chris Webber. Today, doctors no longer practice the procedure.
title and video from @PointForward on twitter (the Andre Iguodala / Evan Turner podcast)
“Studies have shown that microfracture techniques do not fill in the chondral defect fully, forming fibrocartilage rather than hyaline cartilage. Fibrocartilage is not as mechanically sound as hyaline cartilage; it is much denser and unable to withstand the demands of everyday activities as well as the original cartilage and is thus at higher risk of breaking down.”
They also gave it to Greg Oden and we all know how that turned out
syllabic
amare stoudemire too
once he had that first microfracture surgery it basically ended him as a reliable player
graveyeverton93
This fella literally had 3 seasons injury free or slowed down due to injuries 93-96 and yer is still remembered fondly, just goes to show what an absolute beast he was when healthy, no matter how short it was.
[deleted]
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RidiculousBacklog
I just had this procedure done last week, and now I see this… Man.
Granted, I’m a BUSTED middle aged person not trying to be a pro athlete, but just trying have better quality of life. But this freaks me out a little.
renegade36
This type of reporting is very reckless and irresponsible. Chondral injuries have a large range of size and shape which they can fall into. Microfracture is absolutely still used for certain criteria today. Without having exact knowledge of the type of imaging findings, no one can comment on the treatment someone gets just from anecdotal experience. Additionally, sometimes medical care is done with poor prognosis in mind given that a problem simply doesn’t have a great solution available at the given time.
EverybodyBuddy
I loved Penny. At my age, he was THE man for that brief period until MJ came back.
bbq_44
This is what Greg Oden had right after being drafted. As a Blazers fan I wonder what modern sports medicine could have done for him.
Working-Ad5416
Between these 3 players we had position bending athleticism and talent in the late 90s early 2000s we were robbed. 3 top players at their position doing the things we see highlights for daily now. Webber being joker before joker which was more amazing 20 years ago because it was unheard of seeing a 6’10” center start the break like he did. Tmac being a lankier jordan hitting clutch shots between embarrassing anyone who dared challenge him in the paint. Penny being a magic sized pg with a shot and faster to feed a prime shaq.
brncct
Had no idea this was no longer practiced. Isn’t it in football though?
Miyagisans
I got a scope on my knee around April of 2022. I remember going in initially for my pre op consult, I fully intended to undergo microfracture surgery as that was the most common procedure I had seen athletes get. My surgeon at Stanford basically was like, yea if you want to walk/run comfortably in 10yrs, I’d stay far away from microfracture surgery. Grateful I didn’t end up getting it.
bunnybash
They were doing some wild shit to knees in the 90s. Most of it designed to get a player back on the floor ASAP instead of any long term considerations of the athlete. My wife was a pro player and she was in college in the late 90s and they did some wild stuff to her knees and ankles, now at 47 she’s barely able to walk at the end of the day. She would go back and tell the Drs to Eff off if could.
Dweebil
Who else has been a candidate for the surgery and skipped it? Did they have a better outcome? What other options did Penny, Amare and others have?
CptCroissant
Oden had microfracture at least 2x as well
buddhistbulgyo
Holy crap. The same thing happened to all three of them? 😭
Isn’t this also what essentially killed off Arenas’ prime?
EnriquezGuerrilla
Seems like every retired nba player has a podcast now.
PaoLakers
It sucks but that’s how medicine works. It’s called evidence based medicine. It evolves and changes based on long term research and procedure outcomes. Guidelines and treatment change.
I wasn’t a doctor yet at the time but the general consensus must’ve been that micro fracture surgery was the best option for those injuries.
20 Comments
“Studies have shown that microfracture techniques do not fill in the chondral defect fully, forming fibrocartilage rather than hyaline cartilage. Fibrocartilage is not as mechanically sound as hyaline cartilage; it is much denser and unable to withstand the demands of everyday activities as well as the original cartilage and is thus at higher risk of breaking down.”
They also gave it to Greg Oden and we all know how that turned out
amare stoudemire too
once he had that first microfracture surgery it basically ended him as a reliable player
This fella literally had 3 seasons injury free or slowed down due to injuries 93-96 and yer is still remembered fondly, just goes to show what an absolute beast he was when healthy, no matter how short it was.
[deleted]
I just had this procedure done last week, and now I see this… Man.
Granted, I’m a BUSTED middle aged person not trying to be a pro athlete, but just trying have better quality of life. But this freaks me out a little.
This type of reporting is very reckless and irresponsible. Chondral injuries have a large range of size and shape which they can fall into. Microfracture is absolutely still used for certain criteria today. Without having exact knowledge of the type of imaging findings, no one can comment on the treatment someone gets just from anecdotal experience. Additionally, sometimes medical care is done with poor prognosis in mind given that a problem simply doesn’t have a great solution available at the given time.
I loved Penny. At my age, he was THE man for that brief period until MJ came back.
This is what Greg Oden had right after being drafted. As a Blazers fan I wonder what modern sports medicine could have done for him.
Between these 3 players we had position bending athleticism and talent in the late 90s early 2000s we were robbed. 3 top players at their position doing the things we see highlights for daily now. Webber being joker before joker which was more amazing 20 years ago because it was unheard of seeing a 6’10” center start the break like he did. Tmac being a lankier jordan hitting clutch shots between embarrassing anyone who dared challenge him in the paint. Penny being a magic sized pg with a shot and faster to feed a prime shaq.
Had no idea this was no longer practiced. Isn’t it in football though?
I got a scope on my knee around April of 2022. I remember going in initially for my pre op consult, I fully intended to undergo microfracture surgery as that was the most common procedure I had seen athletes get. My surgeon at Stanford basically was like, yea if you want to walk/run comfortably in 10yrs, I’d stay far away from microfracture surgery. Grateful I didn’t end up getting it.
They were doing some wild shit to knees in the 90s. Most of it designed to get a player back on the floor ASAP instead of any long term considerations of the athlete. My wife was a pro player and she was in college in the late 90s and they did some wild stuff to her knees and ankles, now at 47 she’s barely able to walk at the end of the day. She would go back and tell the Drs to Eff off if could.
Who else has been a candidate for the surgery and skipped it? Did they have a better outcome? What other options did Penny, Amare and others have?
Oden had microfracture at least 2x as well
Holy crap. The same thing happened to all three of them? 😭
Add Stoudemire to the list https://www.nbcsports.com/nba/news/amare-stoudemire-regrets-microfracture-surgery-had-it-only-because-he-didnt-know-what-it-was
Isn’t this also what essentially killed off Arenas’ prime?
Seems like every retired nba player has a podcast now.
It sucks but that’s how medicine works. It’s called evidence based medicine. It evolves and changes based on long term research and procedure outcomes. Guidelines and treatment change.
I wasn’t a doctor yet at the time but the general consensus must’ve been that micro fracture surgery was the best option for those injuries.
It’s really a shame for those talented players.
Oden