Things have not gone well for Tom Brady with regards to repairing his knee.
Surgeons repaired Brady's two torn knee ligaments (anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament) on Oct. 6, but within days discovered that the knee had become infected to the point that it threatened his recovery. Brady is now dealing with a "septic joint" from the surgery.
"Infections in a joint can lead to permanent damage, eventually permanent stiffness and permanent pain, or even permanent arthritis of the knee," said Dr. Charles Bush-Joseph, a sports medicine and knee specialist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
An infected joint following ACL reconstruction is a rare and major complication, occurring in less than 1 percent of patients. Along with blood clots, septic joints are the complication orthopedic surgeons fear the most. While infections can occur under the best circumstances, that has not lessened the second-guessing of Brady's decision to undergo surgery outside Boston and away from team doctors.
When doctors wash out a septic joint, a similar action often must be done two or three times to help clear out the infection (Brady reportedly has had two more operations to clean out the infection). He's also been placed on extensive antibiotics.
Now with the added issues of infection, Brady's rehabilitation could end up being longer and a lot more painful. The infection could create long-term knee problems, including reduced mobility, stiffness, weakness, and lingering pain.
As for Brady though, in a message posted on his Web site, he sounded optimistic about returning next season: "I am excited to begin rehabbing my knee and will continue preparing for 2009."
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