Dr. Rothenberg sat down with Newsweek to discuss Isiah Pacheco’s recent fibula fracture. Topics discussed included, severity, treatment and recovery.
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Dr. Rothenberg discusses Isiah Pacheco’s Injury with Newsweek
The Kansas City Chiefs were dealt with a huge injury to running back Isiah Pacheco, who went down during Week 2 when the team took on the Cincinnati Bengals. After the injury occurred, it was revealed that Pacheco suffered a fractured fibula.
Breaking or fracturing any kind of bone generally takes months to heal from, and the initial reports indicated Pacheco would be out for four weeks. However, after more information was released, that number jumped up to six to eight weeks.
To get more clarification on the matter, Newsweek Sports spoke to Dr. Paul Rothenberg, Director of Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at Optum Orthopedic Institute, to get insight on Pacheco’s road to recovery.
Pacheco’s recovery timeframe changing is certainly a subject that many pundits and fans discussed. Dr. Rothenberg commented on the change and what it could mean given that Pacheco has had surgery.
“The timeframe and the treatment has changed a few times since the injury first came out. Initially, it was four weeks. Now, it’s six to eight weeks,” Rothenberg said to Newsweek Sports. “Based on the reports from the surgeon that did the surgery and the timeframe that they are quoting which is six to eight weeks, we can ascertain that it was a displaced fracture at the ankle joint.”
Dr. Rothenberg explains that the initial four weeks were given when the presumed diagnosis involved a small chip on the bone. However, once it was announced that surgery was required, the designation of “displaced fracture” was given to Pacheco, who opted to get surgery to fix the injury.
Given the information provided, Dr. Rothenberg confirmed that Pacheco is more than likely to return within the six to eight weights, though he did state it will likely be “closer” to eight weeks.
One of the biggest concerns would be the injury coming back in some fashion this season, but that would not be the case, as Pacheco is set to have a titanium plate placed at the point of the injury to “reduce” the fracture. Reducing it comes down to shortening the gap between the fractured bones.
“Displaced just means there is a gap,” Rothenberg said. “For these [surgeries], the goal is to reduce it, which is the term we use to make it so that they [bones] are no longer touching. So, it’s anatomic, meaning it looks like it would on the other side, and then put a plate on it to allow it to heal in that fashion. As far as whether it would happen again, on that ankle if he had a similar injury, he could break it again — but most likely it would be in a different location because he is going to have a titanium plate right there.”
From Dr. Rothenberg’s explanation, it appears that Pacheco was lucky to not have suffered a more serious fracture, and should return to the field within the eight weeks timeline.
