Kubica to undergo minor surgery for Elbow
Formula One driver Robert Kubica is to undergo another operation on his elbow, the hospital treating him said on Friday.
Since suffering a horror crash during the Ronde di Andora rally last month, the Pole has already gone under the knife three times to repair his damaged hand, foot, elbow and shoulder.
The Santa Corona hospital where Kubica is recuperating says Friday that he met with a specialist who recommended a minor procedure that would help with his recovery and rehabilitation.
"It was decided that noteworthy elbow specialist Prof. Luigi Celli should operate on the elbow to improve its functionality," said a hospital statement.
"Prof. Celli expressed his satisfaction with what has already been done and said he will be available Saturday to rehabilitate the functionality of the elbow.
"Kubica's condition is otherwise satisfactory both from a clinical and general point of view."
The Polish driver crashed while competing in a rally on Feb. 6 and was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Pietra Ligure, a small coastal town about 60 kilometres southwest of Genoa.
The Pole's first bout of surgery to repair his severely damaged right hand lasted seven hours.
He underwent two further bouts of surgery: the first on his foot, shoulder and inner elbow and the second concentrating on the outer part of his elbow.
Kubica Faces Long Recovery with uncertain Future Return to Formula One
Robert Kubica faces a long road to recovery, according to one of his doctors.
The Pole has been in an Italian hospital since his crash in a pre-season rally race on February 6 which required multiple operations, meaning he is likely to miss the whole of 2011 at least.
Dr. Riccardo Ceccarelli, part of the team treating the 26-year-old at Pietra Ligure, said he could not predict when Kubica would be able to return to the race track.
"Nobody has a clear idea of when he will be ready. Even the surgeons don't know because they say we need some months to see the recovery of the muscle tissue and the nerves, which varies from person to person," he told the website of Kubica's team Lotus Renault on Thursday.
When will he return? Now that's a question to which no one can reply for the moment. All we know is that it will be very long," Ceccarelli said.
"There are two positive things - the work of the doctors and Robert's physical and psychological response which is really very strong.
"For us who know him well there is no surprise. Robert doesn't surprise us by his capacity to react quickly and well. On the other hand, the hospital doctors are astonished," he said.
Ceccarelli added: "We don't have a return date to give. We really can't anticipate what will happen ... I won't talk about neither next year or the following year.
"We're doing our job from day to day, the best possible and afterwards we'll see. It will take time."
"There is a full medical team looking after him, so the care he is getting is first-class. There are highly-skilled physiotherapists for his kind of injuries, who are working with him for many hours each day, and for the moment the best solution is for him to stay there," he said.
"He is doing a lot of physiotherapy -- exercises in his bed or in a chair. It's a simple routine to work on his body to help him recover as quickly as possible. The main injury was to his right arm and hand, but he is moving his wrist and fingers, which is positive."
Ceccarelli said Kubica, who finished eighth in the drivers' standings last year following his switch from Sauber, was now in a "very positive" psychological state.
"To begin with, Robert's psychological balance was up and down, but this only lasted a couple of days. After his initial sadness, we saw a good reaction from him because he is mentally very strong," the doctor said.
"The enormous support from the fans and the F1 community is also very important for Robert. Lots of people have come to visit him and this has been very useful for his recovery."
No comments:
Post a Comment