CLEVELAND, Feb. -- Cleveland Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas underwent a complicated surgical procedure Wednesday that included the realignment of bones in his broken left foot.
The two-hour surgery was performed at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore by Dr. Mark S. Myerson.
The goal was to give Ilgauskas' foot a chance to heal to the point where he can play again. The 7-3 Lithuanian has played just 29 of a possible 214 games over the last three seasons due to a pair of stress fractures in his left foot.
"This was a very complicated fracture on a foot with imperfect structure," Myerson said.
Myerson removed two existing screws in Ilgauskas' left foot and inserted three new ones. He also did extensive bone grafting to repair the navicular fracture.
In addition, the doctors performed two other procedures. A calcaneal osteotomy realigned Ilgauksas' left heel and a first metatarsal osteotomy further contoured the foot in order to distribute stresses on the foot more evenly.
"The shape of the foot was changed through reconstructive osteotomies to allow healing to occur," Myerson said. "This was the best course of action to ensure Zydrunas' healing."
Ilgauskas will remain in Baltimore through the end of the week before returning to Cleveland. His rehabilitation is expected to last six to eight months. Training camp for the 2001-02 season is seven months away.
"I am pleased to learn that the surgery went well," Cavs owner Gordon Gund said. "With the rest of the organization, I wish Zydrunas a speedy recovery and we are looking forward to having him back in Cleveland to rejoin the Cavs' family."
Last week, Ilgauskas, 25, decided to have season-ending surgery. He said he consulted with more than a half dozen doctors around the country and considered retirement before deciding on Myerson for his fifth foot surgery since 1995 and second on his left foot.
Ilgauskas was averaging 11.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in 24 games, helping the Cavaliers to a surprising 15-9 start. But Cleveland has fallen on hard times without its starting center, winning just five of 22 games with Ilgauskas out of the lineup.
