Olympic ski racer Lindsey Vonn said Monday that her left leg almost had to be amputated because of injuries she suffered in a devastating crash in Italy earlier this month.
In a video posted to InstagramVonn explained that her doctor had to perform a fasciotomy, an emergency surgery to relieve pressure in the muscles.
“He did what’s called a fasciotomy, where he cut open both sides of my leg — kind of filed it open, so to speak, let it breathe — and he saved me,” Vonn said.
She explained that she had a complex tibial fracture; she broke her fibula head and tubal plateau. Vonn also had “compartment syndrome,” which she said is “so much trauma to one part of your body that there’s too much blood and it gets stuck.”
“It basically crushes everything in the compartment, so all the muscles, nerves and tendons all die,” she said.
Days before the Winter Olympics started, Vonn, 41, tore her ACL but decided to compete anyway. On February 8, she crashed in the women’s downhill event, breaking her left leg, and was flown off the course.
She said that if she had not torn her ACL, her doctor would not have been with her and would not have been able to save her leg from amputation.
According to Vonn, her doctor performed a six-hour surgery on Wednesday.
The injury left her in the hospital for two weeks, which was longer than she expected because she needed a blood transfusion.
Vonn said she currently uses a wheelchair because she also broke her right ankle and hopes to transition to crutches soon.
“I can’t tell you how painful it’s been,” Vonn said. “It was really hard and it definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to end my Olympics, but it was really inspiring to watch my teammates. Everyone was just incredible, and it was really uplifting to see Team USA dominate. So I’m really proud of all of you.”
Vonn won gold in skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics, becoming the first American woman to do so.
After Vonn tore her ACL days before the 2026 Olympics, she shared her workout routine on social mediaassuring fans she wouldn’t give up.
On Monday, she said she wished things had ended differently.
“I’d rather go down swinging than not try at all,” Vonn said. “And I think what I was able to accomplish was more than anyone ever expected. … This was just a blip on the radar. It was something I wish didn’t happen. But life is life, and we have to take the blows as they come.”
