‘Everything was in pieces:’ Lindsey Vonn describes grueling surgery on broken leg

Team USA skier Lindsey Vonn has emerged from a grueling two weeks of medical treatment after her brutal crash earlier this month.

On Monday, Vonn described her injury in a public Instagram post as the “most extreme and painful and challenging” she’s ever faced in her life — “times 100.”

In the video, Vonn credits her surgeon for saving her leg “from being amputated.”

Vonn, who competed in the Olympics despite a torn ACL, suffered a complex tibia fracture of her left leg and had to undergo multiple surgeries, first in Italy and then back in the U.S.

“Everything was in pieces,” she said.

What made Vonn’s injuries especially serious was that she had developed a condition known as compartment syndrome — when pressure builds up in the muscles from swelling or bleeding. If left untreated, that can cause soft tissue like nerves and muscle to die.

To avoid that, doctors in Italy made incisions in her leg to relieve the swelling. On Wednesday in the U.S., Vonn underwent a six-hour surgery with plates and screws to rebuild the leg and cover the skin to prevent infection.

The injuries were so severe — and not typically seen in other sports — because Vonn was traveling at such a high velocity, says Dr. Anthony Petrosini, sports medicine orthopedist for Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center, who was not involved in Vonn’s care.

“It’s more like something you see in a car accident type of collision,” he told NPR. “This was a very very serious injury.”

While compartment syndrome following a fracture like hers can lead to amputation, Petrosini says that only tends to be necessary when patients aren’t treated quickly enough and the tissue actually begins to die, leaving it vulnerable to infection

“Fortunately, she was receiving top care and they were very aware that compartment syndrome could develop,” he says.

Vonn added that she had to get a blood transfusion due to all the blood loss, which helped “her turn the corner.”

She’s now in a wheelchair and nursing a broken ankle, as well.

The tibia is one of the “slower healing bones,” so it will probably take months until she can bear weight on it, according to Petrosini.

It’s possible she will need additional surgeries, though it’s too soon to say just yet. “Now you’re waiting on the biology to take over and heal that fracture,” he says.

In her post, Vonn has her swollen leg propped up for her fans to see and flashes a smile even as she details the ordeal.

“I’m going to get right to work on rehab and see what I can do and take it one step at a time like I always do,” she says. “I can’t tell you how painful it’s been, it’s really hard. And it was definitely not the way I wanted to end my Olympics.”