Former Dallas Cowboys standout and current University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders underwent successful surgery to repair multiple blood clots in his legs late last week.
The news had been previously announced by former NFL defensive back Adam “Pacman” Jones on an episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” last week. Sanders later confirmed it with some clarifications on what had been reported.
“[I] met with my doctors a week ago,” the pro and college football Hall of Famer said in a recent Instagram video. “[I’ve] got hammer toe. Two of the three toes are hammer toes, and they want to straighten them out, but I’m not receiving enough blood flow in order to do that surgery and another surgery to fix the dislocation in the foot as well.”
The coach posted multiple videos to the account after his surgery, in which he can be seen being prepped for the procedure, giving his kids a post-surgery update, and receiving gifts as he welcomes visitors.
“I had a blood clot in my thighs that they got out,” he told his family over a video call. “Then, I had something below my knee that they got out. Then, I got one in the right leg that they’re going to get soon.”
He also revealed that he expected to be released on Sunday.
The university is not providing updates on the situation because it is a personal medical matter.
Dr. Randall DeMartino, a vascular and endovascular surgeon at the Mayo Clinic, says it is typical for surgeons to address clots in the upper leg before the lower leg.
“If there’s areas where there are blockages preventing blood flow, we want to start from basically the highest area down to the lowest area, meaning from the closest to the heart down to the furthest,” he told The Dallas Express. “We sort of move – when we talk about the legs – from top to bottom, so if there’s an issue with an artery in the groin, fixing that would probably take precedence before fixing something down in the calf or the lower thigh.”
While it is important to note that Dr. DeMartino is separate from the team handling Coach Sanders’ case and is not privy to certain information, he also mentioned that the typical recovery from the procedure can be short. Patients are generally not limited in day-to-day life, but they must be cautious and avoid strenuous activities over the first few weeks.
He also notes there are usually no significant concerns with returning to fast-paced environments like leading a Division I football program.
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