Former Bengals LB May Lose His Leg

[eriadoc]

14 seasons, 206 games, 2 Super Bowls, and 24 surgeries later, Reggie Williams is being told that it's inevitable he'll have to have his leg amputated.

LINK

Williams, who played with the Bengals from 1976-89, started two Super Bowls and is the team's all-time leader among linebackers in most categories including tackles, has had 24 surgeries on his right knee, which looks almost unrecognizable. According to an enlightening story by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Daugherty, Williams is fighting off amputation of his right leg, which doctors tell him is inevitable. His right leg is almost three inches shorter than his left leg after all the injuries.

He has had the surgeries, the first coming in 1979, knee replacements and multiple infections (in 2008 he was diagnosed with the bone infection osteomyelitis, which was not identified for two years) that have left his right leg 2 5/8 inches shorter than the other. He has no insurance to cover the pre-existing condition, so he pays for his own rehabilitation. He has battled the NFL and the Bengals for years over disability benefits.

 

[Vance87]

Man. We can only hope that a.) He gets the money he needs and b.) With today's medical technology we can fix stuff right the first time.

 

[HJam72]

My God, pay the medical bills, Bengals. Not doing so is both heartless & stupid (bad publicity).

 

[IDEXAN]

My God, pay the medical bills, Bengals. Not doing so is both heartless & stupid (bad publicity).

Check ! That sort of story could be real bad PR.

 

[steelbtexan]

We are talking about the Bengals and Mike Brown. It's going to be like squeezing blood out of a turnip.

 

[paycheck71]

My God, pay the medical bills, Bengals. Not doing so is both heartless & stupid (bad publicity).

The Bengals were training on a dirt, ant infested field a couple of weeks ago (as seen on Hard Knocks). That doesn't help their image as being cheap, either.

This story is terrible.

 

[2012Champs]

This is a little longer read with some interesting pieces

Reggie has a theory about how his knee became the cesspool that crippled him. He believes – and says doctors have agreed – that the infection started after a root canal he had in 1989, while still a member of the Bengals. His surgically repaired mouth became infected. The infection spread to "the weakest part of my body" which, Reggie says, would have been his right knee, which had been repaired for the second time in '86.

Dr. Jason Spector, who would be Reggie's plastic surgeon, said the theory is possible, but unproven. "Dental (surgery) is thought to cause infections in prostheses. The problem with that is, the bacteria in the knee should match (the bacteria) in the mouth. I don't know that they ever made that match."

we need CND in here STAT


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2013/08/25/reggie-williams-cincinnati/2697069/

 

[b0ng]

Not that Mike Brown isn't a notorious piece of ****, but he's not the first or last owner who isn't taking care of old NFL stars.

 

[CloakNNNdagger]

This is a little longer read with some interesting pieces





we need CND in here STAT


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2013/08/25/reggie-williams-cincinnati/2697069/

People don't realize it, but when surgery requires any foreign body placement such as hip or knee prosthesis, or mesh pacemaker, etc., any time bacteria enters the body as with a strep throat, urinary tract infection or wound infection anywhere in the body, the bacteria are carried in the blood stream throughout the body. During their trip past a foreign body, that foreign body can be "seeded," i.e., the bacteria can attach to the surface of the foreign body. Antibiotics can heal most surrounding tissues, but there are no blood vessels to carry them onto the prosthesis itself. So, when the infection appears to have been resolved, and the antibiotics discontinued, the still alive bacteria not gotten to on the surface of the implant then in turn re-seed the surrounding tissues and the infection starts all over again. A knee prosthesis is buried in the tibia on one end and the femur on the other. Taking the antibiotics away could infect either or both of these bones. Bone infection (osteomyelitis), once established is extremely difficult to treat. The foreign body prosthesis with its infected seeds must be removed and replaced with a new sterile one (or preferably many times with a temporary spacer) after trying to cut out the infected portions of bone, thus shortening the leg. If the bone removal is not adequate and still infected bone is left behind (because it is very difficult to 100% be assured that this is not the case), the vicious cycle begins all over again.........antibiotics, removal of more infected bone (more shortening of the leg) and replacement with a new "clean" prosthesis.

For years, when a breast augmentation using silicone gel or or saline implants (both of which are foreign bodies) have been performed, my patients have been instructed to always have prophylactic antibiotics given prior to dental cleaning or other work, immediately following the diagnosis of a bacterial upper respiratory infection, or a diagnosis of a bacterial infection in any part of the body including traumatic wounds. You don't really think about it, but a human's mouth is considered much dirtier than a dog's mouth. So when the teeth are cleaned or worked on (including gum work), the gums are traumatized and tiny blood vessels are consequently opened. This allows for access into the blood stream of a myriad of bacteria living in the mouth. These bacteria can be dispersed throughout the body and onto any existing foreign body surface, just as "Johnny Appleseed" did. Normal body tissues can normally fend off potential infection by using the body's own immune mechanisms. However, like after-the fact antibiotics, the immune system cannot reach the implant surface to avoid the implant is seeded. Therefore the prophylactic antibiotics are used to "sterilized" the blood system before the live bacteria can reach the foreign body implants to infect them.

 

[BullBlitz]

I'm certainly not defending the Bengals, but Williams has a law degree from Dartmouth and had a pretty good post-NFL career. It seems as if he should be able to afford good healthcare, if in fact it could help him avoid amputation.

I sure wish him the best, and it's a crime that the league doesn't provide for this.