Brooklyn Nets center underwent a successful surgery on his right foot to repair the fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot, the team announced today.
In addition to the original operation, the surgical team also did a second procedure to reposition a bone in Lopez’s foot, the first metatarsal. The operation is officially called an “osteotomy,” which refers to any surgery that shortens, lengthens, or changes the alignment of a bone.
“(Lopez’s) sole of his foot will bear weight more evenly than before,” Dr. Riley Williams III, the team’s medical director, said in a prepared statement. “The repositioning portion of the surgery lessens the stress on the fractured bone, and decreases the likelihood of re-injury in the future.”
Any added surgeries to Lopez’s foot seem a bit scary, but if it’s done with his long-term health in mind, all the better. One question: why didn’t that surgery happen the first time he broke the foot? Given Lopez’s massive size, a reoccurrence was likely.
Lopez is still considered out for the season, and Nets GM Billy King has said he would pursue the Disabled Player Exception for Lopez. To do so, they’d need to get the approval of an impartial NBA doctor to confirm that Lopez would likely sit out the year.
