MILAN — Lindsey Vonn says her latest surgery went well and she hopes to be out of the hospital soon.
The surgery Wednesday, Feb. 18, took a little over six hours and photos of her left leg show more than a dozen screws. Vonn suffered a complex tibial fracture in a crash in the Olympic downhill Feb. 8.
‘As you can see, it required a lot of plates and screws to put back together but Dr Hackett did an incredible job,’ Vonn wrote on Instagram, referring to her longtime orthopedic surgeon, Tom Hackett.
‘With the extent of the trauma, I’ve been struggling a bit post op and have not yet been able to be discharged from the hospital just yet,’ she added. ‘Almost there. Baby steps.’
Vonn also posted a photo of her being wheeled into surgery, her fifth since the crash. She gave a victory sign and a fist pump, and she’s holding the stuffed shark she received when she was in the hospital in Italy.
Vonn was hospitalized in Italy for eight days before returning to the United States earlier this week.
What happened to Lindsey Vonn?
Vonn hooked the fourth gate with her right arm, which sent her spinning and hurtling into the hard, packed snow. She tumbled end over end several times before coming to a stop.
‘Things just happen so quick in this sport,’ U.S. teammate Bella Wright said after the race. ‘It looked like Lindsey had incredible speed out of that turn, and she hooked her arm and it’s just over just like that.’
The three-time Olympic medalist remained prone in the snow, and she could be heard wailing in pain. The gasps and groans from fans faded into shocked silence as medics worked on her. Vonn remained on the course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded into a helicopter.
What is Lindsey Vonn’s injury?
In an Instagram post on Feb. 9, Vonn shared the news she suffered a complex tibia fracture that will require multiple surgeries. The 41-year-old updated fans on Feb. 11 after a third surgery in Italy and included some gruesome photos of her progress. Upon returning to the United States on Feb. 17, Vonn shared that her injury was ‘a lot more sever than just a broken leg.’
‘I’m still wrapping my head around it, what it means and the road ahead,’ Vonn wrote. ‘But I’m going to give you more detail in the coming days.”
A tibia fracture is a break in the shin bone that requires immediate emergent treatment. ‘Your tibias are some of the strongest bones in your body. It usually takes a lot of force to break one,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic. ‘You probably won’t be able to stand, walk or put weight on your leg if you have a broken shin bone.’
A complex fracture involves multiple breaks in a bone and damaged soft tissue, according Yale Medicine. Symptoms include extreme pain, numbness and, sometimes, a bone that protrudes through the skin. Treatment involves stabilization and surgery.
Lindsey Vonn crash video
NBC broadcasts the Olympics and posted video of Vonn’s crash.
USA TODAY Sports’ Samantha Cardona-Norberg breaks down Linsdey Vonn’s crash just after it happened.
Fans went silent as soon as Vonn crash, reacting with shock, grief and later support as the helicopter lifted her into the sky. USA TODAY Sports talked to some fans after the crash.
Is Lindsey Vonn OK?
Vonn was in obvious pain after the crash, but she was moving her arms, head and neck.
About 18 minutes after the crash, the helicopter slowly began flying toward Cortina. ‘Let’s let Lindsey Vonn hear us!’ the American announcer said as the chopper flew away with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.
Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was at the course for the downhill and spoke to NBC reporters during their live broadcast: ‘I mean that definitely was the last thing we wanted to see and it happened quick and when that happens, you’re just immediately hoping she’s okay. And it was scary because when you start to see the stretchers being put out, it’s not a good sign,’ Kildow said. ‘But she really … She just dared greatly and she put it all out there. So it’s really hard to see, but we just really hope she’s OK.
‘She does have all of her surgeons and her PT staff here and her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll meet her at whatever hospital she’s at.’
Lindsey Vonn torn ACL
It was second time in as many weeks Vonn left a mountaintop on a chopper. She fully ruptured her left ACL, sustaining meniscus damage and bone bruising, in a downhill crash on Jan. 30, in the final World Cup event prior to the start of the Olympics.
Vonn is also skiing with a partial replacement of her right knee. She had dominated the sport before the crash, making the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.
Despite the latest injury, Vonn was determined to race at her fifth and final Olympics. She said her knee felt stable and strong, and she had spent the last week doing intense rehab, pool workouts, weight lifting and plyometrics. She skied both training runs, posting the third-fastest time in the second run before it was canceled because of fog and snow.
Vonn is 41 and was skiing in her fifth Winter Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010, 2018, 2026). She has won three Olympic medals (1 gold, 2 bronze).