SI.com article
March 6, 2003
by David Vecsey
You know Steve Yzerman’s comeback from knee surgery was improbable. But do you know really just how improbable?
Let’s put it this way: The doctor who perfomed the osteotomy on Yzerman’s 37-year-old right knee in August said it was the first time he had ever heard of a pro athlete having the procedure done. Much less an active pro athlete.
The operation was to realign the bones in the knee. The six-month recovery usually implies getting people up and walking normally again. Not playing in professional hockey games.
“I had never heard of one before last June,” Yzerman said. “It’s pretty common, although they had never done it on a competitive athlete. What they did was, in my tibia right below right knee, they sawed 9/10ths of the way through and bent it a little and put a wedge in it. It made me a little more bowlegged. When you’re knockkneed, I guess, you bear more weight on the outside of your knee. And when you’re bowlegged, you bear the weight more on the inside. Since I have a healthier surface on the inside of my knee, they made me more bowlegged.”
