- Thread starter
- #1
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 31,527
- Reaction score
- 876
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20121119/SPORTS03/121118014/Exclusive-Evidence-shows-76ers-Bynum-likely-out-season?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1PHILADELPHIA-- The 76ers let Andrew Bynum break the news about the latest setback with his damaged knees on Friday, then acted as if they weren’t sure what was going on with the guy they’re paying $16.5 million this season.
The truth is that the 7-foot, 285-pound former All-Star center who has yet to play a game as a Sixer may be out for the season and will learn in December, at the earliest, whether he’ll require surgery that could sideline him for up to a year.
One internationally respected orthopedic surgeon, who is not involved with Bynum’s treatment and has not seen his MRIs, told The News Journal that all of the information that has been released by the player and the Sixers points to a likely diagnosis of osteochondritis dessicans lesions. The surgeon said that if this is the case, there’s a small chance that Bynum’s knees could heal sufficiently on their own in time for him to return for the playoffs this season, but called that scenario “wishing on a star.”
“While they can heal non-operatively, they can take a long time [four to six months] to heal, and in adult athletes, frequently they will require surgical intervention at some point if there isn’t adequate healing within the first several months of treatment,” the surgeon said.
He added that if the 25-year-old returns to the court too early and the lesions become large enough, the condition could become career threatening. The surgeon spoke on condition of anonymity because Bynum is not his patient, but this probable diagnosis, given the player’s symptoms and treatment thus far, is backed up by reams of medical literature.