Microfracture surgery results vary

The difference in outcomes for microfracture surgery can be as different as the performances of Kevin Johnson and Penny Hardaway.

Hardaway seemed to get so-so results from his muchpublicized microfracture surgery in May 2000.

He played in only four games in the 2000-01 season, before bouncing back to have a decent year in ’01-’02 (12.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists.)

Then he was slowed down by a variety of muscle injuries and eventually was traded to New York, where he has been injury prone as well.

But Johnson underwent an unpublicized microfracture procedure in the early 1990s and then enjoyed outstanding success, said Dr. Richard Emerson, the former Suns doctor who helped perform the operations on the two players.

Johnson’s operation was successful even though microfracture was considered more of an exotic procedure in the early 1990s (Emerson isn’t sure what year the operation took place).

Johnson’s surgery was performed after the Suns bowed out of the playoffs, and he didn’t miss any time the next season.

"It worked well," Emerson said. "He was very motivated."

In Hardaway’s case, Emerson said: "I never thought Penny wasn’t motivated. Penny eventually came back. But it took longer than everyone would have liked."

Hardaway eventually needed a second operation six months later and ended up missing almost the whole season.

How well the procedure works depends on the body’s ability to respond after the operation.

"You say a prayer and ask the body to do its job," Emerson said.

Players can get five to eight years of performance out of a microfracture, he said. "But you just don’t know how long it’s going to last. It’s just an unknown."

Along with Hardaway’s experience, microfracture surgery got a bad name locally when two prominent Cardinals players — Eric Swann, a former star, and Andre Wadsworth, a first-round draft pick — underwent the surgeries and never returned to form.

The purpose of microfracture surgery is to generate a type of cartilage to serve as a cushion for the knee, so that bone isn’t rubbing on bone.

"It’s not a big reconstruction, like Tom Gugliotta," Emerson said, referring to his operation on the Suns forward, who blew out his knee in March 2000. "It’s technically straightforward."

However, microfracture is not a long-term solution because the surgery does not create true cartilage.

"There’s a three- to fiveyear time frame before it starts to deteriorate, but hopefully with this procedure we’re helping to retard that natural progression," Emerson said.

As for Amaré Stoudemire, Emerson said, "Microfracture is certainly an acceptable treatment in this kind of injury."

In the cases of Swann and Hardaway, both athletes had a history of knee problems before undergoing the surgery, which can affect the recovery process. Swann had several surgeries. Hardaway had two operations on his left knee as a player in Orlando.

Other NFL players have fared well with the procedure, including superstar lineman Bruce Smith.

Just last year, running back Stephen Davis of the Carolina Panthers underwent the procedure in November. He returned 10 months later, in the Panthers’ final exhibition game on Sept. 1. In five regular season games, Davis has carried the ball 91 times for 292 yards, a 3.2-yard average, and seven touchdowns.

- Craig Morgan contributed to this report.