Finley Has Emergency Surgery Due To Infection

[Scott Campbell]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/11/02/jermichael-finley-has-emergency-surgery-due-to-infection/

Jermichael Finley has emergency surgery due to infection
Posted by Mike Florio on November 2, 2010 10:57 PM ET
Usually, we hear that surgical procedures performed on pro athletes were at all times a success. When there's a complication, a public announcement rarely comes.

That's precisely what happened with Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, who underwent leg surgery after being injured on October 17 against the Redskins.

"I had a second surgery," Finley told Jason Wilde of ESPN Milwaukee. "Nobody knows about it. I had caught a real small infection in my knee, so I had to go in about a week ago, had to go back under and get the infection out. I was in the hospital for two days. I'm surprised nobody knew about it. I had to get all these antibiotics in me, get blood drawn four or five times a day. It's terrible. Right now, I've got this IV in my chest, a central line."

A central line? It doesn't sound like a "real small" infection at all.

"[I]t was emergency surgery," Finley said. "I had a 105 fever, I called Doc [team physician Pat McKenzie] and said, 'I'm not feeling too good,' and we had to rush in and clean out the infection. I don't know what it's called. I guess you could call it a staph infection, but I don't think that's what it was. But I had to rush in and they put a central line in my chest. I won't get this taken out for another month and a half. Three times a day I have to get antibiotics put through it."

Again, it doesn't sound like a "real small" infection at all.

We wish Finley well in his recovery. And we hate to see what condition he'd be in right now if it had been a "real big" infection.

[Airin' Rodgers]

Wow, forget about football at moments like these. I just hope the guy fully recovers (which im sure he will)

Football related, I doubt this increases his recovery time at all

[Packman_26]

I would guess this is the reason why he was put on IR. It probably cost him the option of coming back this year.

[get louder at lambeau]

I would guess this is the reason why he was put on IR. It probably cost him the option of coming back this year.

That's an interesting thought. I wonder if the timeframes match up that way or not?

[red]

wow, sounds pretty serious. hope he's ok

he's lucky he called the doc when he had a fever. i sure as hell wouldn't have call in

[MadScientist]

wow, sounds pretty serious. hope he's ok

he's lucky he called the doc when he had a fever. i sure as hell wouldn't have call in

If you have a fever, especially that high after having surgery, you need to call the doctor. It's in the post-op instructions, for this very reason.

Fans sometimes wonder why athletes try rehab before surgery should remember this outcome. Surgery is not without risks, some quite serious.

Get well JF.

[Lurker64]

wow, sounds pretty serious. hope he's ok

he's lucky he called the doc when he had a fever. i sure as hell wouldn't have call in

Usually, when you have a sort of major invasive surgery on a joint, your doc drills it in to you that if you have any sort of fever or any other signs of an infection you get in touch with a doctor IMMEDIATELY. It's entirely likely he was just following directions.

[Tarlam!]

Thanks for posting, SC, good read. GWS Finnley!

[mraynrand]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

[pbmax]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

This is a more frequent outcome in sports lately (the Browns had huge trouble with the Cleveland Clinic and staph infections, Peyton Manning had an infection after knee surgery). Is it the doctors or the facility?

[mraynrand]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

This is a more frequent outcome in sports lately (the Browns had huge trouble with the Cleveland Clinic and staph infections, Peyton Manning had an infection after knee surgery). Is it the doctors or the facility?

I think it's the docs. The Cleveland Clinic has this great name, but Ortho isn't their deal, especially the kind of trauma that Winslow had for example. They should have shipped him to the level 1 trauma center in Cleveland, MetroHealth. No staph infections there. (The papers are still reporting this as though there is some sort of 'staph infection' at the Brown's facility - note to paper - everyone has staph on their skin....). In the case of Finley, it wasn't as though he had an open wound - the infection came following surgery that opened him up. Now, to be fair, Finley could have mucked it up, fooling around with dressings, etc. - sometimes patients do all sorts of crazy stuff when they get surgery and we all know Finley is a bit, shall we say, unique...

[pbmax]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

This is a more frequent outcome in sports lately (the Browns had huge trouble with the Cleveland Clinic and staph infections, Peyton Manning had an infection after knee surgery). Is it the doctors or the facility?

I think it's the docs. The Cleveland Clinic has this great name, but Ortho isn't their deal, especially the kind of trauma that Winslow had for example. They should have shipped him to the level 1 trauma center in Cleveland, MetroHealth. No staph infections there. (The papers are still reporting this as though there is some sort of 'staph infection' at the Brown's facility - note to paper - everyone has staph on their skin....). In the case of Finley, it wasn't as though he had an open wound - the infection came following surgery that opened him up. Now, to be fair, Finley could have mucked it up, fooling around with dressings, etc. - sometimes patients do all sorts of crazy stuff when they get surgery and we all know Finley is a bit, shall we say, unique...

On the skin, that rings a bell. And that would be one reason to paint you with iodine before cutting?

But what about after the procedure? Is it just the dressing to protect the wound or do they apply other barriers?

[Patler]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

This is a more frequent outcome in sports lately (the Browns had huge trouble with the Cleveland Clinic and staph infections, Peyton Manning had an infection after knee surgery). Is it the doctors or the facility?

So did Brady too, didn't he? Didn't he have a couple follow-up surgeries because of infection from his original knee surgery?

[pbmax]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

This is a more frequent outcome in sports lately (the Browns had huge trouble with the Cleveland Clinic and staph infections, Peyton Manning had an infection after knee surgery). Is it the doctors or the facility?

So did Brady too, didn't he? Didn't he have a couple follow-up surgeries because of infection from his original knee surgery?

Yes, and he was in that strange and exotic land known as "Cali-FORN-ia" with its strange ways, shamans, faith healers and unknown infestations. Not being in New England was driving the team and the fans mad over that offseason.

[bobblehead]

Fucking worthless orthopod. You should NEVER get an infection on a surgery like that. Time for a new team doc. Geezus, send these guys to some decent surgeons. There are some good docs at the U in Madison. Unforgivable.

This is a more frequent outcome in sports lately (the Browns had huge trouble with the Cleveland Clinic and staph infections, Peyton Manning had an infection after knee surgery). Is it the doctors or the facility?

I think it's the docs. The Cleveland Clinic has this great name, but Ortho isn't their deal, especially the kind of trauma that Winslow had for example. They should have shipped him to the level 1 trauma center in Cleveland, MetroHealth. No staph infections there. (The papers are still reporting this as though there is some sort of 'staph infection' at the Brown's facility - note to paper - everyone has staph on their skin....). In the case of Finley, it wasn't as though he had an open wound - the infection came following surgery that opened him up. Now, to be fair, Finley could have mucked it up, fooling around with dressings, etc. - sometimes patients do all sorts of crazy stuff when they get surgery and we all know Finley is a bit, shall we say, unique...

I think both play a roll. I know that according to my research the facilities in India have better outcomes and lower incidents of staph infection than facilities in america. Medical Tourism baby...the cure for obamacare.