How Does Chris Cooley's Surgery Affect His Future?

[GhostofSparta]

Mods, if this can/should be merged or moved, I apologize profoundly.

So to be upfront, this question would apply more generally to all pro athletes, but it applies especially to NFL players in my mind. All of us know that Chris Cooley, our beloved Captain Chaos, fractured his ankle, and many of us thought he would be lost for the season. Chris opted instead to have surgery to repair his fracture, which would allow him to return to the field this year rather than next (the man is a warrior). From what I've noticed in the NFL, this is not an uncommon practice. But my question from this situation is this: What are the long term effects of this option?

Now to clarify, there are 2 parts to this question:

1. I'm not as concerned with the "cleaning out" proceedures these guys seem to get every offseason, I'm talking major surgery involving screws, plates, etc. to fix fractures.

2. I don't necessarily mean long-term as in his career, I mean long-term as in 40 years down the road.

Now, being young myself, I can understand why these guys take the risk. Most of them have short careers, so anything that can get them more money NOW weighs more heavily on their minds than anything that might happen 30 years in the future. And if a bubble guy realizes that an extra week or 2 on the injured list might lose him his spot on the team, that's all the incentive to get it done. But what I'm hoping some of you can clear up for me is just how safe such a proceedure is.

I've broken 3 bones in my life: my right wrist once and my right thumb twice in 2 separate places. The last time I broke my thumb, I avoided the doctor for a week pretending it wasn't broken. This wasn't a smart idea, as the bone had started to reset in the wrong place and had to be rebroken. But each of these times I was given a cast and the bone(s) healed find after 5-6 weeks. I'm sure many of you have similar stories. For those of you who have needed surgery to repair a break, what were the reason(s) that you needed that extra support for the healing process?

In some ways, I'm wondering if this is the current generation's version of the Cortisone shot that the older players used to overcome injuries but in effect led to more long-term damaged. We've all heard the horror stories of the old lineman and running backs who have had multiple knee and hip replacements before the age of 50. So does anybody have any insight as to how this type of quick-fix solution will affect this crop of players by the time they hit 50?

A person's body can be notoriously picky about what's inside of it, and it can react differently as a result. So what happens to the screws in Cooley's ankle in a few years? Will they strengthen his ankle, weaken it in key places leading to another break, have to be removed and/or replaced, not affect a thing, some other option?

And I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little curious about how this might change his performace on the field in 2, 5, or 10 years. So I was hoping somebody could shed some light on how a player's career trends after this type of surgery as well.