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Lindsey Vonn Credits Emergency Fasciotomy With Saving Her Leg After Olympic Crash

She now faces roughly a year of bone healing before any decision on ACL reconstruction.

Overview

  • Vonn disclosed the near-amputation Monday in an Instagram video recorded from a hotel after roughly two weeks in the hospital.
  • She said compartment syndrome developed in her left leg, triggering a six-hour fasciotomy performed by Dr. Tom Hackett.
  • The crash on Feb. 8 occurred about 13 seconds into the downhill when she struck a gate and left the course.
  • She reported multiple fractures to the tibia, fibular head and tibial plateau in the left leg, plus a fractured right ankle and a preexisting torn left ACL.
  • Doctors administered a blood transfusion after significant blood loss, and she says she is using a wheelchair with hopes to move to crutches in the coming weeks.