KG Has Surgery

by Jeff Clark on May 26, 2009 3:56 PM EDT in Boston Celtics Articles

Via the Celtics press release:

The Boston Celtics announced today that forward Kevin Garnett underwent successful right knee arthroscopy and removal of posterior knee bone spurs today at the New England Baptist Hospital. The surgery was performed by Team Physician Dr. Brian McKeon and was assisted by Dr. Michael Belkin and Dr. John Richmond.

"After this successful surgery, Kevin can now begin to focus on rehabilitating his knee, returning to top physical shape and fully preparing for the 2009-10 season," Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge remarked.

Update: Scott Souza provides this clarification. Please read:

It is important to note that this surgery was not intended to correct the problem that sidelined him for all but four games from the end of February to the playoffs. The tendon issue requires rest and rehab, while the bone spurs were - according to Rivers - a lingering issue from the start of the season that needed to be taken care of eventually.

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Let me be the first to say...

FINALLY! Good luck KG. Please please please come back, and don’t be afraid of lay-ins from Rondo.

by stevenfuzz on May 26, 2009 2:13 PM EDT reply actions

best news i heard in a long time. now, i worry about perk’s shoulder. the shoulder ia far more complex joint than the knee.

by nazzbo on May 26, 2009 2:14 PM EDT reply actions

Good news

Get that knee ready for next year, KG!

by silvershamrocker on May 26, 2009 2:16 PM EDT reply actions

Are they still going by the line that the bone spurs did not prevent KG from playing? Because I don’t believe it. I’m thinking the doc messed this up from the beginning.

by droopdog7 on May 26, 2009 2:17 PM EDT reply actions

Look, I know that we're all still bitter

but we have to move on. We didn’t win the title this year. Maybe KG would have played against Cleveland, maybe not. But we can’t keep playing the coulda woulda shoulda game. What’s done is done, what happened, happened.

by silvershamrocker on May 26, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Amen

by Amager Celtic Fan on May 26, 2009 2:23 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m just looking for some closure. But I doubt I will get it so that’s fine. Looking forward to next year as well.

by droopdog7 on May 26, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions

yea

and I’m just looking for some reassurance that he will be back at 100%. If we had a better idea of what actually caused his problems, maybe we could feel better about the success of this surgery and next season

by hpantazo on May 26, 2009 2:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought

that the bone spurs were unrelated to the issue that kept him out of the games and that the cure for the main issue was rest, which he’ll get this offseason

I’m no doctor, but that’s what I remember and it still makes me a little nervous (mostly because I don’t understand exactly what it is)

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on May 26, 2009 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions

that's what I remember

and that’s what makes me nervous too. I was hoping that after the surgery they would have a much better idea of wether or not the bone spurs were causing inflammation of the tendon or not. We didn’t get any word on the actual injury that kept him from playing (supposedly).

by hpantazo on May 26, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Well there was a Bill Simmons pod cast that talked about the KG injury – and basically nobody really understands it (or, able to explain it to a laymen) , or how it can be fixed. Basically Rest is all he can do.

Hopefully this surgery helps. But I’m not convinced KG will be 100% because of this surgery. Hopefully he’ll get there through other means (R&R) and fewer minutes during the regular season.

by bob3698 on May 26, 2009 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions

from the boston globe...

Ainge: “There was some hope that he would be able to play,” Ainge said. “But we couldn’t relieve his pain from his bone spurs. I think we’d be in the same place.”

sounds like Ainge admitting that the bone spurs did have a lot to do with KG’s inability to play. In the same article, he also says he fully expects KG to be 100% by training camp. I feel a bit better now.

by hpantazo on May 26, 2009 8:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Good luck with rehab KG. Stay thirsty for number 18 and get ready to kick some ass.

by JPV on May 26, 2009 2:20 PM EDT reply actions

Was the tendon addressed?

Thats my question. Bone spurs are one thing and the tendon detaching from the bone is entirely another. This doesn’t mention the tendon, which could imply that they are hoping it heals on its own…

by 17iscoming on May 26, 2009 2:38 PM EDT reply actions

It does mention it

The article mentions that the tendon requires rest and rehab, not surgery. This is what the team said all along. Unfortunately, some of our fellow fans would rather believe their fantasies instead of accepting what has been said for so long and has now been confirm with the surgery.

I suppose we won’t know how well the healing went until next season.

by guava_wrench on May 26, 2009 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Are there still secrets?

From ESPN last week:

Garnett missed 24 games with a sprained right knee, but he will have a procedure for a bone spur in the joint.

Garnett played a total of 66 minutes, 18 seconds in the last two months of the regular season because of strained ligaments and what the team said is an unrelated bone spur.

From a lot of what I’ve heard, it was the ligaments that were the worry and the main problem, but the surgery on the “unrelated bone spur.”

by Fan from VT on May 26, 2009 2:38 PM EDT reply actions

Never heard anything about strained ligaments. I always thought that medical people refer to ligament “sprains” and muscle or tendon “strains”. But what do I know…

- JoeB

by joeb on May 26, 2009 2:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Grapes

Now we’ll see pictures of Gisele feeding KG grapes in the South of France.

Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk

by mcpu40 on May 26, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions

Good news!

It was about time! Get well soon KG!

by Drucci on May 26, 2009 3:03 PM EDT reply actions

I'm Still Worried About the Potential Tendon Issue

There is alot of mileage on those knees. Is there a Dr. in the house?

by Brickowski on May 26, 2009 3:24 PM EDT reply actions

Should have been done in late February

KG might have kad a chance to come back in playoffs. I think this was mishandled by management, player and doctors. I think he had been favoring his knee all year because of the spurs and ended up straining the tendon. Hopefully, he’ll be able to walk without the pain in his knee joint which will alleviate the tendon inflammation.

by The Real Large James 2 on May 26, 2009 3:40 PM EDT reply actions

This is a quote by Doc Rivers, from Yahoo Sport’s Boston Celtics Team Review:

"All I’ll say about that is that he kept working every day behind the scenes, and each time it got better it would (get inflamed) and get worse," he said of Garnett’s right knee. "Kevin worked his (butt) off more than people know. I coached Grant Hill(notes), and I never saw a guy work so hard and never be able to play. All that people saw was him in a suit and tie, and that became their image. They didn’t see the sweat and the pain he went through. We went through four months straight (in Orlando) where I didn’t know if he would play. Every night I had to go into the game with two different lineups."

You can’t help but be worried by the fact that the knee has repeatedly flared up, and mentioning KG and Grant Hill in the same sentence is downright scary.

by kozlodoev on May 26, 2009 4:48 PM EDT reply actions

well...get better

by celticinorlando on May 26, 2009 5:09 PM EDT reply actions

The bone spurs aren't the issue??? Whaaaat!

Well, that is a smart bunch so I’m sure they are getting 2nd or 3rd opinions.
But KG had a lot of rest to calm down a tendon and it isn’t calmed down from what they say.
The Real Large James has a good speculation. Let’s hope. There is no replacing him both in impact and entertainment value. I just love watching him.

by Wildblu1 on May 26, 2009 5:46 PM EDT reply actions

I would think that...

there was an exploratory aspect to the surgery too because there are things that can be missed on MRIs etc that can be seen once going in there.

I wish someone had asked about that (ie if they inspected cartilage and/or the suspected tendon).

hoping that the fact that they didn’t do anything else during the operation means that they looked at this tendon and didn’t see any worse damage than what was previously thought.

by winsomme on May 26, 2009 6:33 PM EDT reply actions

That's My Thinking Too

But we may never know all the details. All that really matters is that KG gets well and will be able to play great basketball next year. It is so much of a treat to see this team play when KG’s in there.

"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn

by TrueGreen on May 26, 2009 7:22 PM EDT up reply actions

About things we will never know, Confucius say...

Curiousity not only way to kill cat. Just ask head chef at Peking Garden.

by charlie chan on May 26, 2009 8:22 PM EDT reply actions

Not addressing the problem

The tendon issue was what keeping KG out. The surgery did not take care of it. If rest and rehab are the only solution, then I am a bit worry since KG has been resting for two months and it didn’t seem to help much.

by 33-32-00 on May 27, 2009 5:46 AM EDT reply actions