Brook Lopez on foot surgery: “It’s going to work"

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One of the best writers around, Fred Kerber of the NY Post, caught up with the Brooklyn Nets big man, Brook Lopez, this past week and discussed his most recent surgery on his chronic right foot.

Besides repairing the fractured fifth metatarsal, surgeons also repositioned another bone in his foot which is known as a first metatarsal osteotomy.

Nets medical director Dr. Riley Williams III said in a statement on January 5th that part of the procedure “lessens the stress on the fractured bone, and decreases the likelihood of re-injury in the future.”

[quote_box]“It’s going to work,” Lopez said this week in his first public comments since his Jan. 4 operation. “I’m definitely thinking that way. Some people say, ‘If this doesn’t work …’ I won’t think that. I’m definitely thinking the other way.”[/quote_box]

This was the same career-saving procedure that was done to help Zydrunas Ilgauskas back in 2001 after he repeatedly broke the same foot over and over between 1998-2001. This osteotomy procedure allowed him to play an additional 10 seasons and only miss a total of 88 games in that span after only playing 29 games total in the previous three seasons.

Doctor Andrew Brief spoke about the surgery with Kerber and what was done to help alleviate the pressure on his fifth metatarsal.

[quote_box]”In nutshell form, the procedure is “not just a fixation of the fracture, it’s a total reconstruction of the foot to balance the mechanics better so it’s less likely to occur,” Brief said.[/quote_box]

Lopez has only been out of the house twice in the past month and both times have been to visit the doctors and he was at the game Thursday night for the time as well.

Nets fans can only hope that this surgery to alleviate the pressure on the outside of his foot will be the one that does the trick and helps the big man get back on the floor like he was the first three seasons.

Good luck Brook as we are all rooting for you to stay healthy.

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