Dr. David Chao: “The first worry is how do the doctors prevent infection because it was an open fracture in two different places, and it seems like a pretty significant crush wound, fasciotomies, where the wounds were left open. There has been no new announcement, but he has undoubtedly undergone further procedures to clean up the wound, and he’s going to undergo further surgery to close the wounds. The whole key is that you don’t want this to become an Alex Smith situation where there is a raging infection. That’s what will complicate things quite a bit… The crushed bones are going to be OK as long as there is no infection. Certainly, he’s not coming back in 2021, and let’s hope for next year and see what happens… In terms of the initial amount of trauma and the fracture itself, there is no question that Tiger Woods’ injuries are much worse than Alex Smith’s right now. Alex Smith’s situation became much worse because of the infection, so that’s what we’re waiting to see with Tiger… Hopefully, there is enough tissue that survives that he doesn’t need a flap like Alex Smith did, where you’re moving muscle from other parts of your body to get coverage over the bone to be able to close up the wound.” (Full Segment Above)
Listen to former NFL team doctor with the formerly known San Diego Chargers, Dr. David Chao, join Outkick the Coverage to give an update on the severity of Tiger Woods’ injuries, and detail the concerns doctors are going to have with Tiger's multiple leg fractures he sustained in Tuesday's car accident.
Check out the segment above as Dr. Chao breaks down what he believes will be Tiger’s biggest challenges, and also draw parallels between Tiger’s injury and Alex Smith’s. (For more Tiger Woods health breakdowns from Dr. Chao, check out the media boxes at the bottom of the page)
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