He's wrong and that tweet is likely dated, especially if he still has hardware in, external supports, and has already had osteo + several debridements. The problem is that any kind of internal hardware is extremely "sticky", and pathogens can easily form a biofilm upon them. If that happens, you have two options: remove the hardware or give them long-term antibiotics. Unfortunately for Alex, they couldn't remove the hardware in the short term because his leg had no other form of stability, which is why they had to keep going back in to clean it out.

Without looking at imaging, it's also not possible to know if he lost any native bone due to his past infections. I saw a patient not long ago that essentially had his entire middle finger eaten away over the course of about a week. Granted he was older and diabetic, but it's still nothing to fuck with.
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Does this go for all internal hardware? I know plenty of people with plates/pins/etc, and after a couple of years it's forgotten about.
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Any time that you have anything prosthetic in your body it is something to be cognizant of, but it really depends on the severity of infections you get elsewhere. If you have a regular UTI, you don't need to freak out; but if is untreated for a while or progresses to where you end up with a bloodstream infection (bacteremia), then your risk of seeding that hardware goes up profoundly (and bacteremia is an extremely serious infection, regardless).

For example, if you have endocarditis on your regular heart valve, antibiotic therapy is generally shorter and less intense (pathogen-dependent) than if you have a prosthetic valve.

What got Alex is that the compound fracture provided an avenue for infection and the hardware made it easier to stick.
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I am learning a lot of new stuff.

Thanks, Hamas.
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This is a shame. Alex is one of the NFL's good guys. At least he will be well paid for never being able to play again..
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Meh he made tons of money, is crazy famous, and has a hot ass wife.

I think he won in the end. Just hope he recovers.
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Yeah, I could think of a few worse ways to be forced into retirement, just a few though... not many at all....
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I.would.rather.go.out.like.this.than.fall.off.a.roof.when.making.10.per.hour
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Just ask RoyC75.
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Give me 200 million and I'll let you shatter my leg.
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/Sandy Cheeks
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New article on Smith. Long read, but interesting.

Washington Redskins quarterback Alex Smith hasn't abandoned hope of playing football again after suffering a devastating leg injury in November -- even though he will have an external fixator on his right leg for at least another month.

In his first public comments since the injury, Smith told Fox 5 DC's Angie Goff on her Oh My Goff podcast published Friday that he still wants to play. Smith suffered a compound fracture in his right leg during a Nov. 18 loss to the Houston Texans. He endured multiple surgeries because of an infection, and amputation became an option at one point, sources have said.

But now Smith feels good enough to at least consider returning, even if multiple hurdles remain.

"That's the plan," he told Goff. "There are steps I've got to conquer before I get there. ... Learning to run again. That's a big one. I'm already throwing. Throwing isn't a problem, but dropping, moving around, change of direction."

Smith, 35, said he must wear the external fixator for at least another four to six weeks, which would put the total time in the contraption at around seven and a half months. Smith remains realistic about his future.

"The steps I'm at now are lifestyle steps," he said. "I'm still working on playing basketball with my kids and running around after my daughter. Those are things I have to conquer anyway until I get to the point where I'm walking on the field. I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited about that challenge. The stronger I get every week, the more I do, the more hopeful I am that that's a real possibility."

The Redskins selected Dwayne Haskins in the first round of the draft, pegging him as their quarterback of the future. They did so knowing the long road Smith faced and that, even if he does return, he might not be the same quarterback he was before the injury. Smith's running ability was a big part of his game.

Washington also has Colt McCoy and Case Keenum under contract for this season, but neither is signed beyond 2019.

Smith signed a four-year contract worth up to $94 million, with $71 million guaranteed, in 2018. The Redskins never planned to cut him this offseason, uncertain about his playing future and also knowing they would take an approximate cap hit of $40 million, accounting for a $12 million insurance policy. They could cut him after this season but would still incur a hit of $20 million, once again getting some relief with insurance.


Throwing isn't an issue for injured quarterback Alex Smith, but the mobile aspects of the position will have be relearned, he told a Fox 5 DC podcast. Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports
Smith told Goff he had played golf earlier that morning and then went through physical therapy, followed by a massage both had during the interview. He called it his most active day since the injury. They later played a game of dodgeball, with Smith stationary, in a local mall.

He called the past three months "life-changing" because he could start driving again and was off crutches.

"The first four months were really, really hard," he said. "Just to be in a wheelchair as long as I was. When you have independence and lose it ... that was the hardest part."

He credited the effect the external fixator has had on his recovery.


"This thing is gonna save my leg, save my bone, allow me to heal and walk again and hopefully play football again," Smith said.

Smith told Goff that "every week or two weeks" he is doing something in physical therapy that he didn't think he could. It could be a physical or mental hurdle.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say mental obstacles, there are things with my leg I don't trust yet," Smith said. "I feel I'm quite a bit further along than I think."

That progress, and a desire to focus more on what he must do each day, has helped him stay positive.

"It's crazy looking and it sucks what happened, but at the same time, people out there have it way worse," he said. "Life happens, and for me, I feel like this is a time for me being tested and having a challenge in front of me, and how can I handle it?"
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Damn he needs to hang em up for his own good.
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Yes. He should just be happy doctors saved his leg. He's got more money than God. Just enjoy your kids and then coach if you want to stay in Football. No reason to go out there and get pounded again. Washington isn't going to be competitive for many years.
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So now he is playing dodgeball where he can't dodge? We already know he can't throw a dodgeball. We have all seen that video!
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