Lindsey Vonn revealed she could have lost her leg as the result of her crash in the downhill at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
In an Instagram post Monday, Feb. 23, Vonn detailed injuries that were far more extensive than initially known. In addition to the complex tibial fracture in her left leg, Vonn said she had a tibial plateau fracture and fractured fibular head. She also broke her right ankle.
Vonn also had compartment syndrome, and said that was what posed the greatest threat.
“Compartment syndrome is when you have so much trauma to one area of your body, that there’s too much blood, and it gets stuck, and it basically crushes everything in the compartment,” Vonn said “All the muscle and nerves and tendons, it all kind of dies. And Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg. He saved my leg from being amputated.”
Vonn said Hackett, her longtime orthopedic surgeon, was in Cortina to watch her compete at her fifth Olympics. He conducted a fasciotomy to save her leg when she was hospitalized in Italy.
“He filleted it open (and) let it breathe, and he saved me,” she said.
Vonn also announced that she’s out of the hospital.
She was hospitalized in Italy for a little over a week before being transferred to a hospital in Colorado. She has had five surgeries since the Feb. 8 crash, including one last week after she returned to the United States that lasted more than six hours.
Vonn said she will focus on rehab and hopes to get on crutches in a few weeks. She said she will probably be on crutches for about two months, but it will take much longer before she is healed completely.
“It will take around a year for all of the bones to heal,” Vonn said, “and then I will decide if I want to take out all the metal or not, and then go back into surgery and finally fix my ACL.”
Vonn said all of the surgeries have caused an enormous amount of pain, and also required her to have a blood transfusion. She said Team USA’s performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics has helped bring her joy during this difficult time.
“It’s been really hard … it was definitely not the way I wanted to end my Olympics,” Vonn said. “But it’s been really inspiring to watch my teammates. Everyone’s just been incredible, and watching Team USA dominate has been really uplifting.
“I always fight, I’ll keep going. No regrets. And, I just appreciate all the love and support. It’s been really amazing.
