January 16, 2013

Six Month Wait

Alex Rodriguez underwent surgery on his left hip, and will be out of action until after the All-Star Break:

Dr. Bryan Kelly conducted the operation at the Hospital for Special Surgery to fix a torn labrum and an impingement in Rodriguez’s hip. Kelly told reporters last week that the injury was the result of the oblong shape of the femoral head in Rodriguez’s hip, and that he would reshape the bone into a more spherical shape in a two-hour procedure, and clamp the torn labrum back to the bone.

He also said he expected Rodriguez’s hip to return to full function and gain more range of motion. The only uncertainty was how much damage had been done to the cartilage in the hip over the years.

I suppose the upside is that two new hips extend Alex’s career, making his contract worth it.

3 thoughts on “Six Month Wait

  1. pft

    No mention of the amount of cartilage damage which was the most critical uncertainty.

    The other uncertainty is avoiding reinjuring the right hip as he rehabs the left one since there will be more stress on the right.

    ReplyReply
  2. Devon

    David, the way you put that, made me think about this from a perspective I hadn’t thought of before — if new hips actually help him extend his career, then shouldn’t they be considered cheating like PED’s are considered cheating? After all, it’s changing his body in unnatural ways to gain an advantage the other players don’t have. Which sounds exactly like the argument against PED’s.

    Not saying I’d hold it against him, but I think maybe all the people who hold PED’s against Bonds, Clemens, etc, should also hold surgeries like this against players.

    ReplyReply
  3. tas

    If surgery is cheating, than all the pitchers who have had Tommy John surgery would need to be considered cheaters, too. But it’s definitely worth noting the progress of medical science in allowing players to extend their careers, since if A-Rod’s hip went two decades ago, his career would just be over.

    ReplyReply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *