2024-09-09 19:06:38
Following the operation and reconstruction of the right foot of the San Antonio Unido goalkeeper, a surgeon spoke with EL DÍNAMO and provided more details about this process and what will depend on it to estimate the recovery period.
The career of San Antonio Unido’s goalkeeper, Christopher Campos, was left in suspense after a serious accident who suffered during the early hours of Monday, September 2, on Route 78.
The footballer trained at the University of Chile suffered a traumatic amputation of his right foot. After that, at around 4:00 a.m. he entered the operating room and after almost four hours of surgery, doctors at the Public Assistance Emergency Hospital (formerly Posta Central) confirmed that the operation was successful.
In this context, Jorge Ibáñez, deputy medical director of the health facility, said: “It was possible to reconstruct the limb and we have limb viability.”
Given this news, Cristóbal Campos is living through crucial hours with regard to how he will evolve after the operation.
“This is something very dynamic, it is being evaluated continuously, this can change depending on the severity of the injury. One cannot guarantee long-term viability. He has other types of injuries that make him a critical patient, although his life is not at risk. A prognosis cannot be guaranteed,” Ibáñez explained.
What is a traumatic amputation and how Cristóbal Campos’ foot was reconstructed?
Regarding this unfortunate event, Francisco Leyton, a surgeon and academic at the School of Medicine of the University of Talca, explained to THE DYNAMO what A traumatic amputation is a high-energy injury to a limb that causes it to lose contact, either partially or completely, with the rest of the body. Apparently, based on the history described in the press, he would have had part of the flap attached to the lower limb.”
Regarding the reconstruction process of the former Universidad de Chile goalkeeper’s foot and the factors that depend on the success of a surgery of this type, Leyton explained that “the main thing there is the speed as soon as the accident occurs and that there is a multidisciplinary team to be able to do it.”
“Basically, it is about moving quickly as soon as the accident occurs. The first thing to do is to see the viability of the limb. There are several guidelines that one can follow to know if that limb is ready to be amputated or can be reconstructed. Now, I think that in the case of an elite athlete, one tries to go all out so that the limb is not lost,” said the surgeon.
To which he added: “Basically, first you do something osteosynthesis, an external self-test to affirm the bone, and then reconstruct the vascular-nervous bundle and the tendon-muscle part.”
What is the recovery process like and could you return to football?
The recovery process is complex and can change in a matter of hours, either for better or worse. In this regard, Francisco Leyton said that “the first few hours are crucial.”
“I think that He is still very much at risk of losing his limb.the battle is not yet won, not at all. So the first thing is to achieve the viability of the limb. After that, depending on what viability is achieved, is the recovery phase,” he said.
The above is evaluable on a case-by-case basis, since it will depend mainly on the “neurovascular viability of the limb, because it is one thing for blood to reach me and another for me to have sensitivity in the limb.. And it requires a set of those things to achieve mobility. So that has to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, but in general These injuries are very severe. We are talking about at least one year of rehabilitationif everything turns out well.”
On the possibility of an eventual return to football, the doctor was cautious and said: “It is difficult to say a priori, since it is like someone’s professional career, but it is complex. The odds are more against that.”