What Does the Future Hold For Brook Lopez?

On Saturday Brooklyn Nets All-Star center Brook Lopez had his third surgery on his right foot at Duke Medical Center in North Carolina, to repair the break he sustained on December 20th. As well as repairing the break, Lopez also had a first metatarsal osteotomy. 
What that means is that the doctors moved the bones around in Lopez's foot so he could better bear weight. The doctors essentially redesigned his foot, a foot that has proven it cannot support a 7 foot tall man who runs miles every day. 
Foot surgeries on tall men in the past, like Yao Ming, have often been last chance surgeries with the hopes of prolonging a career on a foot that isn't designed for that profession. 
The Nets however, aren't saying this is a last chance effort to save Lopez's career. They have $60 million invested in the center, and are being overly cautious and defensive.
"He had surgery. It was successful. And then he'll recover and be back playing," said Nets general manager Billy King. "We can sit here and say 'last-ditch effort' or whatever, he had surgery. They said it's gonna be a successful recovery, so I mean, we can't sit here today on January 4 and say what's gonna happen when he starts playing again. We can't speculate on that, and I'm not gonna do that."
The Nets are hopeful, therefore, that Lopez will make a full recovery and be back next summer working out and ready to play to play in the fall. Their future is tied up in Lopez and Deron Williams and were likely deliberate when they chose this path for Lopez. Dr. James Nunley performed Lopez's surgery and has operated on Grant Hill and recently Lakers forward Ryan Kelly. Dr. Nunley is considered one of the top in his field. 
What seems so cruel to fans, and of course Lopez himself, is that he was healthy for so long, not missing a single game in the first three seasons of his career. Lopez played 74 games last season after coming back from a broken foot the year before.
Lopez was starting to come into his own since his last broken foot two years ago, becoming a force offensively. Even when the Nets kept adding offensive threats, Lopez was still the best and most reliable. He was averaging a career high 20.7 points on a career best 56 percent shooting in the first 17 games before he fractured the foot in Philadelphia. 
It's uncertain whether he will ever be able to return to his pre-break numbers, and no one has a concrete answer.
"It's a break. Talk to me in October, or this summer when he's working out, and that's all we can do," King said. "We can't sit here and make up answers."
Reference: ESPN
If you are a basketball player with a foot or ankle problem, call our Rocky Hill or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Jeffrey S. Kahn, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
Podiatrist in Rocky Hill and Middletown, CT
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Net's Brook Lopez To Undergo Surgery

Brook Lopez just can't catch a break. 
The Brooklyn Nets center had a screw replaced in his fifth metatarsal in the offseason and was hoping for a better 2013-2014 season. It hasn't happened.
Lopez will undergo surgery on January 4th to repair the fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot, the team announced Saturday. 
Lopez will be out the rest of the season and more information will be available after his surgery. 
The injury occurred on December 20th in Philadelphia and is the same bone he has broken two times previously. Lopez got tangled with 76ers' Thaddeus Young and went down awkwardly in the fourth quarter of the overtime loss. 
He was examined last Tuesday by team physician Dr. Riley Williams III as well as Yankees team doctor Dr. Christopher Ahmad to see what would be the best way to proceed. They determined that surgery, the second on that bone, would be the most appropriate method of repair. 
The 25 year old ended the season with a team high of 20.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks on 56.3 percent shooting in 17 games. He missed nine games with a sprained ankle. 
Kevin Garnett has moved over to center with Lopez out and Mirza Teletovic is starting at power forward. 
The Nets started the season with championship aspirations, but have won just 10 of 29 games. 
References: ESPN and Newsday
If you are a basketball player with a foot or ankle problem, call our Rocky Hill or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Jeffrey S. Kahn, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
Podiatrist in Rocky Hill and Middletown, CT
Visit our website, follow my tweets on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook.

Nets' Brooks Has Surgery Once Again

Brook Lopez just can't seem to get a break.
Lopez underwent surgery on his right foot recently for the third time since 2011. The need for surgery was discovered after an MRI revealed a bent screw in his right foot. Lopez had been experiencing no pain in his foot before the MRI, and the decision to have surgery was described by GM Billy King as "proactive." The screw was intended to support his fifth metatarsal and had bent over time.
Lopez is now in a walking boot following the minor procedure to replace the screw, which was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. The Brooklyn Nets center's bent screw was replaced with a new one. He is expected to return to basketball related activities by August.
Should Nets fans and coaches be worried about Lopez's recurring foot problems? It's tough to say, but this same foot was fractured twice during the 2011-12 season and the screw was implanted to prevent further injuries. Many 7 foot tall basketball players fall victim to foot injuries because their feet can't support the weight of their frame, hence why Lopez's screw bent.
Lopez is the Nets' best player and in the 2012-13 season, he led all NBA centers in scoring with 19.4 points per game. He needs to concentrate on getting stronger in his foot this summer so he doesn't get the dreaded "injury-prone" label.
References: Sports Illustrated and Sports Illustrated.
If you are a basketball player and you have a foot problem, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
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Nets' Brook Lopez Has Foot Troubles Again

English: Photo of Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets at the foul line. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brooklyn Nets' center Brook Lopez is listed day-to-day with a ligament strain of the right midfoot. He missed all but five games last season with a fifth metatarsal break. However, this current injury is not related to the previous one.
"When the location of the pain, on the top of the foot, was different than where he had before, Dr. Williams suggested we wait, ice, get in here, and get X-rayed in Orlando," said general manager Billy King to the New York Post. "At noon he went with trainer Tim Walsh to see the Orlando doctor, and had an X-ray and the X-ray looks identical to the one before the season started." But, "It's not related to the previous injury and he'll be out these two games and after that he'll be day-to-day."
Lopez said of waiting for the results from the doctor, "I was nervous. I was nervous, especially right after we got the X-rays... I was thrilled. It's a much better position than I could've been in."
Added coach Avery Johnson, "It felt like a year. I'm sitting outside and I'm looking at my phone and once we hear the news of where he is, that was good news for us."
Lopez couldn't explain how he injured his foot last Wednesday in the third quarter in the win over the Celtics, perplexed over he could be injured after "driving against Kevin Garnett and landing on my right foot." Lopez didn't necessarily land wrong, but instead came down hard on a foot that has been plagued with injures.
Johnson says that "What happened to Brook can happen to anybody. These guys do a lot of twisting and turning and flying through the air."
Injuries like these are like deja vu in the Nets. Last year Damion James was day-to-day with a broken foot, a fifth metatarsal break like Lopez, and ended up missing the entire season. At the time the Nets insisted the two injuries were not related. The screw inserted in his foot became infected. James initially said, "I'm young, man, I don't need to worry about things like lengthy absences", and felt "10 times better" than when he injured the foot just 10 days previous.
Lopez had been off to a great start this season, averaging 18.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 53% from the floor during the first 14 games for the Nets.

If you participate in basketball and have a foot problem, call our Newington, Kensington, or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Craig M. Kaufman, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
Podiatrist in Newington
Visit our website, friend and like our page on Facebook, and follow our tweets on Twitter.