‘Saved my leg from being amputated’: Vonn reveals seriousness of injury

1 week ago 16

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Livigno: American skier Lindsey Vonn has revealed her leg was at risk of being amputated due to a horrific series of injuries as a result of her crash at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Vonn took to social media on Monday (local time) to update fans on her condition, detailing the full extent of her injuries which included a shattered tibia and fractured fibula in her left leg which caused compartment syndrome in the leg.

Lindsey Vonn opens up on the extent of her injuries.

Compartment syndrome is a dangerous condition caused by intense trauma, such as fractures or crushing injuries. It restricts blood flow and can cause muscle and nerve damage.

“Everything was in pieces, and the reason why it was so complex was because I had compartment syndrome,” Vonn said.

“Compartment syndrome is when you have so much trauma to one area of your body that there’s too much blood, and it gets stuck, and it basically crushes everything in the compartment, so all the muscle and nerves and tendons, it all kind of dies.

“And, Dr Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated.”

Vonn underwent a fasciotomy , which is an emergency surgery that cuts through the tissue in the leg to relieve the high pressure in the muscle compartment.

The 41-year-old former Olympic champion has been in hospital for almost two weeks across Italy and the United States as doctors worked to piece her leg back together.

Her latest surgery, of many, was six hours in length.

“I was in the hospital a little longer than I had hoped because I had a very low hemoglobin from all the blood loss from all the surgeries,” Vonn said.

“I was really struggling. The pain was a little bit out of control, and I had to have a blood transfusion, and that helped me a lot. I turned the corner, and now I’m out.”

Vonn will spend the next few weeks in a wheelchair after she also fractured her right ankle. However, she said she was hopeful of making it to crutches as soon as she could, although she would likely be using those for up to two months.

She will need to go in for surgery further down the track to repair the ACL she ruptured nine days before her crash at the Olympics.

“I’m going to get it right, work on rehab, see what I can do and take it one step at a time, like I always do,” said Vonn.

“But, I can’t tell you how painful it’s been. It’s been really hard, and it was definitely not the way I wanted to end my Olympics ... I wish it had ended differently, but I’d rather go down trying that not try at all.”

Medics attend to Lindsey Vonn on the slope after her crash.

Vonn said, despite it all, she was able to accomplish more than anyone expected of her to begin with.

“This year was incredible, and so worth everything. I worked really hard to get back, and it was so worth it. This was just one blip on the radar. It was the one thing that I wish didn’t happen,” she said.

“But life is life, and we have to take the punches as they come, so I do the best I can with this one. It’s really knocked me down, but I’m like Rocky, I’ll just keep getting back up.”

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