What is Tight rope Surgery? LSU star undergoes unique procedure and will miss time.

Nov 05, 2024

On Monday, Brian Kelly informed the media that LSU's starting left guard will miss time after undergoing tight rope surgery on his ankle. When fans saw or heard the quote from Brian Kelly their first thought was likely "What is Tight Rope surgery?".

The Southern California Orthopedic Institute describes Tight Rope Surgery the following way.

This technique is used to stabilize an ankle after injury. It can be used to repair a high ankle sprain, which damages the soft tissue structures between the tibia and fibula and causes these bones to separate. It can also be used to stabilize a fracture of the fibula. The TightRope system anchors the ends of the tibia and fibula together with a braided polyethylene cord, rather than with a rigid surgical screw, to restore the original position of the bones and to allow for proper healing.

The surgery has become popular as of late in Sports as Brock Bowers, Tua Tagovailoa, Tony Pollard, Kenny Pickett, and several other football stars have had the procedure in the past few years.

The surgery is chosen by athletes as it allows the ankle to heal quicker while also ensuring that it heals properly. Ankle injuries are difficult to deal with for athletes as they need to be able to plant, pivot, and set blocks so any weakness or pain in the ankle is an issue.

The typical recovery time from Tight Rope surgery is anywhere from four to six weeks but, there are several factors involved. The severity of the initial injury plays a massive factor on the recovery time from this type of injury. An offensive lineman like Dellinger may take longer to recover as they put a ton of pressure on their ankles when planting to set blocks. The most recent case was with Brock Bowers who returned to the lineup 26 days after surgery.

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