Nuggets' Danilo Gallinari questions his 1st doctor's knee procedure
Denver Nuggets' forward Danilo Gallinari injured his ACL back in April of 2013, right before the Nuggets hit the playoffs. Instead of an ACL reconstruction, Gallinari had the ligament repaired through something called the "healing response" performed by famous knee surgeon Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colorado. Because Gallinari didn't completely tear his knee, this process was supposed to be a less invasive procedure for bringing the Italian forward back to the court quickly.
Unfortunately, it didn't work and in January of 2014, Gallinari had reconstructive surgery. He missed the entire 2013-14 season as the Nuggets missed the playoffs. Sportando tells us Gallinari says he regrets the decision to go to the Steadman Clinic and have that procedure. He will write about it in a book someday but says it was a mistake to go to the clinic.
“I feel great. I am ready to return seven months after my last knee surgery. I had a few contact practices in Milan. Now I have to re-gain confidence and be ready. I will need to be patient because after more than a year without basketball you have to work also on the mental aspect. But I want to be a better player than before the injury” said Gallinari. “Steadman? It is clear that if I could go back, I would not go to Steadman Clinic.
I will write a book on my last year and half with some things never told. But it is better not to talk about that. I just say that one month after my surgery, Steadman said that he would not work anymore. I made a wrong choice but he was considered one of the best surgeons and his clinic was within a hour’s drive from Denver. Now I see what happened to Giuseppe Rossi, Westbrook, Vonn and many other maybe not famous that went to his Clinic.”
Russell Westbrook famously injured his meniscus in the 2013 playoffs when Patrick Beverley collided with him near the sideline as Westbrook was calling a timeout. He had his knee surgery to repair the torn meniscus at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, only to need surgery in October of 2013 to repair a loose stitch. That would be the Westbrook reference Gallinari is making in that quote.
According to a paper published by Dr. Steadman in 2006, the "healing response" procedure has a success rate of 77 percent, which Gallinari wouldn't be included in. They opted for a quick repair instead of a reconstruction because of the lack of tearing in Gallinari's ligament, but he probably would have returned to the floor some time in the 2013-14 season had they just done the reconstruction right away. While Derrick Rose had a reconstruction after his injury in the 2012 playoffs, he didn't end up playing until the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Iman Shumpert had reconstruction after his torn ACL on the same day as Rose and returned in January of 2013.
Gallinari was an important part of the Nuggets' success after being one of the centerpieces of the deal that sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks in 2011. The Nuggets lost to the Golden State Warriors in the first round in the 2013 playoffs, and won just 36 games in 2013-14 after suffering injuries throughout their roster during the season.
(H/T - Will Carroll for information on Steadman process)
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