re: Patrick Beverley has torn meniscus

A condensed version:


It’s often framed as a choice for the player and the team pitting short-term desires against long-term health. But in reality, it seems to be less of a “choice” and appears more conditional on the specific results of the MRI or even the exploratory surgery.

“The vast majority of meniscus tears are trimmed,” said Dr. David Chao, currently an orthopedic surgeon in California and formerly the head doctor with the San Diego Chargers. Chao has also handled numerous injured NBA players, including a brief stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

“Most tears have no real option to sew.”

The trim scenario could have Beverley back to the Rockets within weeks, possibly even by the start of the playoffs in late April.

For Dr. Chao, it all comes down to the specifics of the tear, which the Rockets should know more about early next week. Beverley’s agent, Kevin Bradbury, told the Houston Chronicle that he expected clarity in the coming days and would list Beverley as “out indefinitely” until more is known.

“The periphery of the meniscus is vascular,” Dr. Chao said. “If you have a clean tear that is in the periphery, even if it’s a larger tear, you want to sew those because it preserves your knee long-term.

“But if you have a tear that’s not clean and not in one place, then it’s not going to heal and you have to take it out. Another scenario is if it’s a smaller tear but in the inner rim, where there’s no blood supply. And only tears with blood supply can heal.”

“In the end, you end up trimming much more often than sewing.”