Blake Griffin Reveals More Surgical Info

23 Jul 2012

Tweet
Pin It

Blake Griffin shows off his humor again in an amusing interview with Rainn Wilson (The Office). One bit of serious information Griffin reveals, though, is that his recent knee procedure was a partial meniscectomy and not a meniscus repair (Partial meniscectomy is an assumption I’m drawing as opposed to a full meniscectomy because Blake expounds on the procedure, “they took out part of my meniscus”). This is a similar procedure to the one Blake had on his right knee his freshman year of college.

A partial meniscectomy generally has a faster recovery time than meniscus repair (Griffin played in a college game two weeks after his right knee meniscectomy). Maybe Blake’s summer won’t be just devoted to rehab like many have speculated?

SmartenupBlake

The repair sounds better becuz they dont take anything out of you. They literally took some of his meniscus and this is the 2nd time. That cant be good.
- http://www.clipperblog.com Andrew Han
  
  I suppose a repair would technically be better, but I’m not a doctor (I’m also not sure how often a repair is an option for pro athletes). It’s the first meniscus procedure on his left knee though and Griffin’s lost no mobility/athleticism from his right knee surgery 4 years ago. I imagine he’ll experience some osteoarthritis long after he retires but I’m sure most pro athletes experience that.
  
  And any time you hear about a player getting his knee “scoped” it’s likely something similar to what Griffin just underwent. Not fantastic news, but nothing to get too concerned about.
DeMote DeAndre

I heard an orthopedic surgeon talking about this the other day on the radio. The difference in a repair and a trim (which is how the orthopedic surgeon referred to it) depends on where in the meniscus the tear is. Some parts of the meniscus have more blood vessels and those parts can be stitched and repaired and then will heal up. Other parts don’t have blood vessels and so won’t repair and so that part has to be trimmed off.

The trim is a faster recover, but the repair that takes longer also is better for the long term wear and tear, since the meniscus all is still there.

The orthopedic surgeon said Griffin had the repair not the trim, and so he said it would take Griffin longer to recover but he would be better long term.

That sounds different from what Griffin said here, but he could have been wrong here and the Orthopedic surgeon could have been correct.
- http://www.clipperblog.com Andrew Han
  
  Are you referring to the Dr. Klapper radio segment a while back? I posted Klapper’s video feature on Blake’s injury here where he details the same info. Klapper said he didn’t know the details of Griffin’s injury or procedure but just lists the various options for a meniscus tear.
- Griffin
  
  This might be the only time demote might not get any thumbs down becuz he isnt speaking about dj or none of his nonsense.
John Raffo

Nice work Andrew.
Not a physician either. And you’re right that a removal of all or part of the meniscus has a shorter recuperative time than a repair.
I remember the criticism of Chris Paul’s knee surgery in 2010 was that the surgeon may have removed the entire meniscus rather than attempt a repair because a repair would have effectively canceled Paul’s season.
I understand an athlete’s right to privacy, but there’s been almost no information about Griffin’s recent knee surgery… other than it was “successful”.
Even more mysterious was Eric Bledsoe’s knee surgery last offseason. We don’t know where he suffered the injury, when it happened, or the details of the surgery. We don’t even know if the Clipper management was aware the surgery took place until after the fact.
You’re also 100% correct that Griffin will inevitably suffer some osteo-arthritis (hopefully, when his playing days are over).
- http://www.clipperblog.com Andrew Han
  
  Thanks, John Raffo.
  
  I wondered about the Paul surgery, too. I’d like to think doctors would always have a patients longterm health as their chief concern, but who knows in a multi-billion dollar industry. You did good work breaking it down when the trade happened.
  
  I thought there was some convoluted info that got passed around on Bledsoe’s knee. Bledsoe tore his right lateral meniscus Oct 7, 2011 (doing what, who knows). Bledsoe said he had surgery on it two days later by Dr. Benton Emblom at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
  http://www.nba.com/clippers/news/bledsoe-injury-update-111209.html
  http://www.nba.com/clippers/features/training-camp-2011-12.html (search “Injury News”)
  
  Considering how long Bledsoe was out after the surgery, I would guess it was a meniscus repair, no?
  - Griffin
    
    yeah it took 8 weeks to recover then he had to go threw strength training and rehab to be in the game. Blake on the other hand should have taken better care of his knee in the offseason after the playoffs. i think the injury was becuz of the one he suffered in the playoffs. but im glad he is getting better i hope he can improve his shot and freethrows and take this team to another level
  - John Raffo
    
    Right. I think he had repair rather than meniscectomy given the time it took him to get back. The Andrews Center is apparently a first rate joint, but why the mystery? Why the shadows? The Clips seemed reluctant to admit that the injury happened at all.
    When you analyze it, the Paul surgery is particularly bothersome. The Hornets were fighting for a playoff spot with a new coach. Paul was the centerpiece of the team. Ownership was about to collapse, and the team was coming apart in post-Katrina New Orleans… a tiny, failing market… and an embarassing situation for the NBA.
    Paul’s return was essential if that team was to make the playoffs. And Chris Paul is nothing if not a gamer. Was there pressure put on the surgical team to make a decision that would bring back Paul sooner rather than later?
    Dunno.
    Similarly, how important is it for Blake Griffin to return to the Clippers by the opening of training camp?
    Dunno.
  - http://barmapla.com FD
    
    I’m sure BG and Paul or any athlete would get a 2nd opinion with their own doctor that cares about their long term future. If they don’t, then it’s their own fault (and agents fault). Their agent would care about long term anyway.
  - MV22
    
    I am 3 months out from left medial meniscus surgery in which the surgeon “trimmed” the meniscus and I have been riding a stationary bike at a fairly high resistance level around an hour per day plus other stretching and strengthening excercises. I have been walking on the treadmill and running in 15 minute stretches. I have no pain or swelling. The medial meniscus is much less serious than the lateral meniscus, which explains Bledsoe’s long recovery time. He had lateral meniscus surgery. My doc does many athlete’s knee surgeries. I’m much older than Blake and not a professional athlete (though I was pretty good when I was younger). He has access to treatment every day all day. He’s going to be fine. My hope is that he gets to work out with The Dream prior to the season. He’ll be ready to go when training camp begins.
Gator

I’m willing to bet 20 bucks that Griffin will have the dreaded mircofracture surgery at least once during his five year contract….
- SmartenupBlake
  
  Damn dude. Why put that jinx on him.
  
  Vinny or someone need to tell him to only dunk in games. He needs to start taking better care of himself. No more impromptu dunk contest.
- Griffin
  
  WHy would you say that about any nba player or athelete. thats just wrong dude. what if i said gator is gonna get shot 3 times in home robbery in the next 5 years. Now cant control his bladder due to nerve damage and has to wear a diaper when he shits himself thats just something you dont say about anyone.
http://clipperblog Bobb Marley

Would the Platelette enhancement surgery Kobe and Grant Hill had in Germany be something that would also be of benefit to CP3 ?
- http://www.clipperblog.com Andrew Han
  
  Best as I can tell, no. Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Therapy and Orthokine (Kobe/Grant Hill procedure in Germany) are more about recovery than regeneration. Think of it as basically if you’re body had a bruise or a tear, especially in places where blood flow isn’t prominent, then PRP or Orthokine would aid in healing those injuries.
  
  In the case of Chris Paul, his lateral meniscus was completely removed so there would be nothing for the PRP/Orthokine to repair. Ironically, PRP/Orthokine would probably help Caron Butler’s injuries and Chauncey Billups’ Achilles. Of course, PRP/Orthokine are relatively new procedures in sports medicine and no one actually knows how legitimately effective they are.
  
  PRP therapy is basically the act of taking a patient’s blood, spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the platelet-rich plasma, then injecting it back into the site of the injury. The theory being platelet-rich plasma is the body’s natural way of healing injuries, so more PRP heals things faster.
  
  Orthokine sounds like some kind of modified version of PRP therapy, developed by Dr. Peter Wehling of Germany (hence, everyone going to Germany for the procedure). They take interleukin-1 from the patient’s body and inject it into the injury to try and prevent inflammation and cartilage degeneration. Again, how effective this actually is, no one knows.
  
  Just so we’re clear, I’m not a doctor. A lot of the above info could be inaccurate, but that’s the best I could find.
  - http://clipperblog Bobb Marley
    
    Thanks for that Andrew!
SmartenupBlake

Is there a meniscus implant available? How hard could it be for some doctor to come up with that?
- John Raffo
  
  There are orthopedists who are experimenting with cadaver transplants with some success. I don’t think it’s anything like NBA-ready.
DeMote DeAndre

The orthopedic surgeon I heard on the radio definitely said Griffin had the repair and not the tear. The surgeon contrasted what Griffin had done to what a baseball player named Joey Votto had done at about the same time. He said Votto had the trim and would recover faster than Griffin.

Did he actually know? I have no idea.

It’s possible the surgeon on the radio knew, because I expect these guys (orthopedic surgeons) all talk to each other and he possibly called the surgeon who did the operation and found out before he went on the radio, same as he might have called the doctor who did the Joey Votto operation.

It’s also possible he wasn’t suppose to make the information publc so he said he didn’t know the details of Griffin’s surgery. Maybe he said one thing one day and then backed off of it on another. Or maybe one day he didn’t know and then he found out.

All I know is in the radio interview I heard, the guy said Griffin had the repair.
- SmartenupBlake
  
  I think you’re talking about Klapper, who is a brilliant dr, but did not perform Blake’s surgery. He based the repair guess on Blake’s estimated recovery time. Which the Clips said was 8wks. Blake himself just told you what was done. I think he would know best. He was the patient.
digs

I found Blake’s comments about his instincts very interesting.

Team USA could have been a watershed experience for Griffin – it definitely would’ve helped his instincts… now…discussion about Team USA and Griffin is trivial…

Co-Founder & Publisher:	Kevin Arnovitz
Co-Founder & CTO:	Michael Fiske
Executive Editor:	D.J. Foster
Managing Editor:	Andrew Han
Senior Contributors:	Jordan Heimer
	Fred Katz
	Breene Murphy
Staff Writers:	Jovan Buha
	Patrick James

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Jun				Aug »
						1
2	3	4	5	6	7	8
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21	22
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

Blake Griffin Reveals More Surgical Info

ClipperBlog Contributors:

Live Twitter Feeds:

Your ClipperBlog Contributors:

Clippers Twitters:

Clipperblog Feed

Preserving the Loy Vaught legacy...

Calendar

Recent Posts

Archives

Old Archives

External Links

Pages

The Tag Cloud

Recent Comments