Anatomy of the Knee

Not that I am a human doctor or anything, but I am a veterinarian. So, I do have some medical background in regards to what is going on with Rick Dipietro after having multiple knee surgeries and continuing to have, what the Islander's PR, are calling swelling in his knee.

Let's first recall the chain of events:

June 3, 2008 Rick Dipietro announced that he was to have surgery on his Left Meniscus (The Meniscus is a ligament which helps hold the knee joint in place..see picture above)

On November 1, 2008 it was announced that Rick Dipietro was to have another surgery on his knee (reported to be the meniscus). It also was NOT clarified whether the surgery was on his left knee or on his right knee.

Rick Dipietro played his first game back on December 26, 2008. During the game, myself and many others witnessed DiPietro favoring something during the 3rd period. It turned out to be a groin strain. Since then his groin apparently has healed but he has not played again due to swelling in his knee.

Being a veterinarian, I will speak only in terms of which I know about. In the average dog, they usually don't get surgery unless they have ruptured their cruciate ligament. The cruciate ligament is very closely associated with the meniscus. The majority of cruicate ligament ruptures includes damage to the meniscus. For dogs that have a cruciate repair, they usually need to be cage rested for ~ 8 weeks with slow returning to activity.

So, now we have DP. 2 knee surgeries. Swelling in his knee ~9-10 weeks post surgery if its on his 2nd surgery. If it's his first surgery having complications that puts it at 28 weeks post surgery. Either way, this is not good news for the Islanders. If it were a dog, I'd be referring to a specialty center.

Luckily, for DP, he's got specialists up the wazoo. I don't know why these specialists aren't telling him to stay off his feet for the rest of the season. Why rush your franchise goaltender back for this season? Any ligament damage should be given 8 full weeks of rest and rehabilitation for a dog. So what would I have to think about a young, NHL franchise goalie, on a losing team, who competes hard no matter what the situation, stretching those ligaments to the extreme? I would be thinking, "give him the rest of the season off!"

And now, we have this repetitive inflammation. And you'll hear it from me first:

Unless DP gives himself the proper rest for his ligaments to heal appropriately and make sure that his knees are stabilized by his ligaments, he will be lost for good.

Time to draft a goalie please.