Neymar’s surgery is minimally invasive and takes up to 2 hours – 10/19/2023 – Sport

The surgery that striker Neymar will have to undergo to correct the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee usually takes between one and two hours and should not leave marks on the player’s body, according to experts consulted by Sheet.

The surgical procedure is common. It is known as video arthroscopy and is considered non-invasive, with some small cuts for the surgeon to access the injured region.

Injury to the meniscus, which acts as a kind of shock absorber to the knee, is simpler to resolve and requires stitching and the application of stitches to reconnect the torn parts. In the case of the anterior cruciate ligament, which connects the tibia and femur bones, the process is more laborious, requiring the removal of a tendon from another part of the body that will serve as a graft to reestablish the connection.

More than the procedure itself, however, regaining the confidence to do the same movements as before the injury is seen as the main obstacle for him to return to the pitch.

The star of the Brazilian national team was injured on Tuesday (17), during a clash between Brazil and Uruguay in the World Cup qualifiers at the Centenário stadium, in Montevideo, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the home team.

Orthopedist Luciano Pacheco explains that the surgery the player must undergo, video arthroscopy, is a minimally invasive procedure. In it, the surgeon uses a type of tube, similar to a straw, with a microcamera at the end connected to a monitor, through which it is possible to view the patient’s internal joints.

Once the injury is identified, the doctor makes small incisions in the knee area to make the necessary repairs. Pacheco states that spinal anesthesia is usually applied, which blocks sensitivity only in a specific part of the body.

“This video arthroscopy technique has the advantage of accessing the entire interior of the joint without having to make a large cut in the skin to reach the joint. As a result, postoperative recovery is much better, with less pain and less risk of infection”, explains Pacheco.

He adds that meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament injuries are performed in the same surgery, but that it is necessary to wait about a week for the procedure to be carried out after the injury occurs, so that the region deswells.

According to the orthopedist, the meniscus injury can be treated using a suture, a type of seam with stitches that allows it to heal. The meniscus is a crescent-shaped cartilaginous structure located between the tibia and the femur, whose main function is to cushion impacts on the knee.

In the case of the anterior cruciate ligament, Sérgio Mainine, orthopedist at Ifor Hospital (Institute of Fracture Orthopedics and Rehabilitation), explains that it is not possible to suture it. The procedure involves removing a tendon, which can be from the thigh or patella region, to reestablish the connection between the two torn ends using a graft.

The ligament, adds Mainine, is fixed to allow early rehabilitation, preventing muscular atrophy in the affected region. “It is advantageous to start rehabilitation early, although there is a whole protocol for waiting for healing, which can take six to eight months.”

Once his clinical recovery is complete, the national team star will have to face another challenge, which is to regain confidence in performing the same movements he did before being injured. “The problem really is for the patient to gain the confidence to do all the activities he did before, kicking, running, dribbling”, says Pacheco.

The Saudi club Al Hilal player has suffered from a long history of injuries in recent years. Considering what he suffered in the defeat to Uruguay, he already has 17 more serious problems that have taken him out of action since 2014.

In an interview with Sheet Before the injury was confirmed by the CBF, Júlio Cerca Serrão, coordinator of the Biomechanics Laboratory at the School of Physical Education and Sport at USP (University of São Paulo), estimated that the deadline for the player’s return to the field would be at least six months.

Most likely, however, it will take between eight and 12 months for the attacker to return to the field, said the expert. Depending on the speed of recovery, this could be the athlete’s longest period of inactivity. To date, the injury that has kept him off the field for the longest time (six months) was a sprain in his right ankle, with ligament damage, between February and August of this year.