Sir Chris Hoy has extended his heartfelt wishes to fellow broken leg victim Lindsey Vonn following her devastating crash at the Winter Olympics. The skiing icon narrowly avoided amputation after a horrific fall during the women's downhill race in February, requiring multiple surgeries.
Vonn's Ordeal
Vonn described the injury as "by far the most extreme, painful and challenging" she has ever faced, adding that "everything was in pieces." The 41-year-old revealed she developed compartment syndrome and credited Dr Tom Hackett for saving her leg through a fasciotomy.
In an Instagram post, she explained: "Compartment syndrome is when you have so much trauma to one area of your body that there's too much blood and it gets stuck, it basically crushes everything in the compartment. All the muscle and nerves and tendons, it all kind of dies. Doctor Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated. He did what's called a fasciotomy, where he cut open both sides of my leg, let it breathe and he saved me."
Hoy's Parallel Experience
Hoy is all too familiar with compartment syndrome, having sustained a severely broken leg in a cycling accident last year. The six-time Olympic champion has continued cycling while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Speaking on his Sporting Midadventures podcast, he said: "Looking at all her fractures, the X-rays and the media coverage, it's a very similar injury [to his], a tibia plateau fracture. I was looking at the metal work. To be fair, her plates were a little bit further down than mine, so she's outdone me on that one!"
He added: "The doctors tell you that because of compartment syndrome, there is a risk of amputation for anyone in that situation. I was given the same warning. That's one of the things they're hyper-vigilant about. She's right in the thick of it [recovery] now and my thoughts are with her and with anyone else with an injury like that because it's not much fun."
Further Complications
Vonn, who arrived at the Olympics having already torn her ACL during the build-up, also sustained a fractured ankle and required a blood transfusion due to blood loss from her operations.
Discussing his own recovery from what he described as the worst crash of his life, Hoy said: "I've got a slight limp but on the bike, it's the least painful, so I'm back doing two-and-a-half-hour rides."
