More Florio Fear Mongering

[DGameguy]

ProFootballTalk.com - BRADY’S INFECTION COULD HAVE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES

Didn't know Bill Polian had Florio's phone number

 

[primetime]

I like how it was a league insider, not, you know, a qualified medical professional.

 

[apple strudel]

Granted, Florio is not going on anything specific, but he's technically correct. MRSA after a surgery of this type is very worrisome. Look at LeCharles Bentley. Hopefully they got to it early enough.

That said, it is pretty irresponsible of him to post an article that speculates on Brady's situation just to drive traffic to his own site. He's leeching Brady's name and scaring people via speculation to make a buck. He admits to knowing nothing about the specific situation, but that doesn't make the post any more responsible. A credible reporter doesn't make that post until he has something specific about Brady's situation.

 

[apple strudel]

I like how it was a league insider, not, you know, a qualified medical professional.

Well, not only that, but that this insider only presents general information, rather than specific information about Brady.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Granted, Florio is not going on anything specific, but he's technically correct. MRSA after a surgery of this type is very worrisome. Look at LeCharles Bentley. Hopefully they got to it early enough.

That said, it is pretty irresponsible of him to post an article that speculates on Brady's situation just to drive traffic to his own site. He's leeching Brady's name and scaring people via speculation to make a buck. He admits to knowing nothing about the specific situation, but that doesn't make the post any more responsible. A credible reporter doesn't make that post until he has something specific about Brady's situation.

Let's be clear: (1) No one has said what the infection was. (2) Even if it was staph (which is quite likely, though by no means definite), that doesn't necessarily mean it was MRSA.

 

[Rob0729]

It is funny that he points to Peyton Manning needing a second surgery to clear up an infection, but never mentions how he was back on the field a month later. Granted it was a different surgery, but a second surgery to clear up an infection doesn't always mean that the doomsday scenario is in place.

 

[captadamnj]

The positive aspect of this is that it is still "only" October. We all want a 100% Tom Brady (actually, I'm thinking he'll come back as the 125% Bionic Brady ) asap, but better to have these issues now than during training camp next year.

 

[swheeler23]

It is funny that he points to Peyton Manning needing a second surgery to clear up an infection, but never mentions how he was back on the field a month later. Granted it was a different surgery, but a second surgery to clear up an infection doesn't always mean that the doomsday scenario is in place.

Why do they do this? It is like they hope for the worst.

 

[DGameguy]

Yeh didn't Manning have to have his bursa sac removed? I worked on a surgical floor through college and in my current position I see a lot of performance data regarding infection rates, and while it's uncommon to need surgery to clear out an infection, it is a lot more common than he lets out. This clearly wasn't someone with a medical background feeding him the story. Certain procedures require surgical intervention a lot more than others in terms of infection control. Bariatric (gastric pypass) surgery comes to mind.

 

[apple strudel]

Let's be clear: (1) No one has said what the infection was. (2) Even if it was staph (which is quite likely, though by no means definite), that doesn't necessarily mean it was MRSA.

This is correct. And that's exactly the thing with the report: Florio's saying that the infection (some unknown) could have severe consequences. Of course it could, especially if it is MRSA, and it goes untreated, and Brady stops going to the doctor, and there's is a worldwide shortage of antibiotics, and on and on. He's speaking generally about a specific situation. If truthfullness is the goal, this doesn't work.

 

[BradyManny]

I don't like reading this...even if its crap like Florio, still doesn't make you feel good. Get well Tom.

 

[JSn]

In other news, a species of flying penguins has been discovered:

YouTube - Penguins - BBC

 

[Rob0729]

Why do they do this? It is like they hope for the worst.

Fear mongering is a fact of the media in general these days. If you listen to the news, everyone in the world would have died from AIDs, SARS, the Bird Flu, planes falling out of the sky because of the Y2K issue, Mad Cow Disease, etc. by now. Sensational journalism is the word of the day.

 

[Rob0729]

This is correct. And that's exactly the thing with the report: Florio's saying that the infection (some unknown) could have severe consequences. Of course it could, especially if it is MRSA, and it goes untreated, and Brady stops going to the doctor, and there's is a worldwide shortage of antibiotics, and on and on. He's speaking generally about a specific situation. If truthfullness is the goal, this doesn't work.

Ok, I don't have a medical background, but Brady had his second surgery about a week or two after his first surgery. How bad could the infection gotten in that timeframe? You look at some of the guys Florio reference who suffered setbacks and their infections weren't found until months after the surgery. Does the timeframe matter or am I jumping to conclusions like Florio?

 

[alamo]

Why do I get the idea that very few people who commented actually read the article first? I am sometimes amazed no Patsfans posters have torn their own ACLs due to their violent anti-(PFT/ESPN/Herald/etc) knee-jerk reaction

First of all, did anyone hear about Brady's second surgery and say "Oh, no problem"? I didn't, because there is always a possibility of problems with surgery and rehab and this is the sort of first indicator you'd expect if serious problems were to eventually develop. The odds still say there will be no problems, but every bit of bad news makes problems a bit more likely.

In this regard, consider the case of John Grant. The 2008 MVP of Major League Lacrosse, Grant underwent an ACL replacement four years ago. In August of this year, Grant developed an infection in his elbow. The infection migrated to the ACL, and doctors had to remove the ACL and the screws that were holding it in place.

“When I had knee surgery in 2004, I received a cadaver’s ACL instead of a part from my own body,” Grant said. “I’m no doctor, but I was told that when the elbow infection spread, it attacked the weakest part of my body — the dead tissue in my knee.”

Due to the infection, Grant will have to wait as little as four months and as long as a year to receive a new ACL. Thereafter, he’ll go through the lengthy rehab period following ACL replacement.

Though Grant’s case represents an extreme outcome, the fact that Brady already has needed surgery to clean out an infection in the vicinity of the new ACL puts him on the slippery slope that could ultimately require a new ACL, if the ongoing efforts to remove the infection from his body aren’t successful.

Personally, as ghastly as it would sound to me to open up my knee and attach a cadaver's tendon with screws, it would much worse to have to open up the knee again to take it all out. I take comfort in the fact that this would probably be a one-in-a-thousand outcome (or less). But still something to be aware of.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

I am sometimes amazed no Patsfans posters have torn their own ACLs due to their violent anti-(PFT/ESPN/Herald/etc) knee-jerk reaction

............

 

[BlitzFritz]

this is typical media noise

 

[hwc]

The second "surgery" in an infection is almost certainly opening up the wound to put in a drain to remove any accumulated fluid and reduce the pressure.

Obviously, you would rather not have to deal with an infection, but this is making a mountain out of a molehill.

Also, cadaver ACL grafts are not widely used in high-level athletes. It's not as strong. Find for a regular joe, not so much for an NFL athlete. The grafts for active athletes are either taken from the patella tendon in the knee itself or from the hamstring.

Brady's surgeon wrote one of the major textbooks on sports medicine procedures including the ACL reconstruction options. I haven't found which procedure he prefers.

Tiger Wood's surgeon is one of the leaders in what is called a "double-bundle" reconstruction -- essentially doing two ACL grafts with one bundle each -- to reproduce the stability of the natural ACL function. He takes them from hamstring.

The patella tendon graft seems to be the most widely performed option because the surgeon can actually harvest bone at both ends of the replacement tendon and graft the bone to the new location.

 

[upstater1]

Ok, I don't have a medical background, but Brady had his second surgery about a week or two after his first surgery. How bad could the infection gotten in that timeframe? You look at some of the guys Florio reference who suffered setbacks and their infections weren't found until months after the surgery. Does the timeframe matter or am I jumping to conclusions like Florio?

It all depends on the infection. MRSA. Staph. Flesh-eating. Something more benign. Which is it?

Some of these are quicker than others.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

It all depends on the infection. MRSA. Staph. Flesh-eating. Something more benign. Which is it?

Some of these are quicker than others.

Let's be blunt--if it were MRSA or necrotizing fasciitis, don't you think the media would have been all over it by now?