Deion Sanders May Need His Foot Amputated Due to Ongoing Blood Flow Problems
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“I don’t have feeling in the bottom of my foot at all,” said the Colorado coach and NFL Hall of Famer, who previously had his left big toe and second toe amputated after developing blood clots following a routine surgery
Deion Sanders, new coach of the Colorado Buffaloes football team, may have to get his left foot amputated due to continuous problems with blood flow.
The NFL Hall of Famer — who already had his left big toe and second toe amputated in 2021 due to blood clots that developed after a routine surgery — documented a meeting with doctors about the severity of his situation.
Sanders said he’s been experiencing pain and numbness in the same foot.
“I don’t have feeling in the bottom of my foot at all,” Sanders, 55, explained. “I just want to know what we could do because I want to do it this summer. When we get rolling, I’m not gonna have time to do it.”
“You just have to understand what the risks are. Things can cascade,” vascular surgeon Donald Jacobs told Sanders on Thee Pregame, adding that “he could lose the foot.”
RELATED: Deion Sanders Reveals He Had Two Toes Amputated Following Foot Surgery Complications
Max Wohlauer, another vascular surgeon, then explained that the blood pressure measured in Sanders’ lower leg had previously been the same as the blood pressure in his arm, but is now only about two-thirds the blood pressure in his arm.
“So those arteries have shut down,” Wohlauer said.
Sanders later posted the video on his Instagram, sharing a message with his followers about staying positive during difficult times. It’s unclear if he will have the amputation surgery, but he told his social media followers that he would keep them updated on his health journey.
“As you know I’ve faced some medical challenges with my foot but I’ve never said “WHY ME” – I keep moving forward, progressing,” he wrote. “See you never know what a person may be going through while I sit in your seat of judgment but you can trust and believe that we are all going through something – just keep the faith and know that if He brought you to it, He will bring you through it . . I’m CoachPrime and I’m built for this. #Coach Prime.”
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Sanders first revealed in March 2022 that he'd had his left big toe and second toe amputated the previous fall.
The traumatic experience began a few weeks after Sanders underwent routine surgery to fix a dislocated toe and inflamed nerve. A few weeks after the surgery, the two toes started turning black.
The former athlete was diagnosed with three life-threatening femoral arterial blood clots and he developed compartment syndrome, which caused increased pressure in his leg — resulting in limited blood flow and swelling.
"They were talking about the amputation of toes," Sanders said at the time. "Then they were talking about the amputation of my leg from the knee down. Then, they were trying to ensure I had life."
"Due to the clots, he wasn't getting good circulation to his leg, lower leg and foot, and his calf muscle swelled up," said Dr. Steven Sheskier, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle surgery at NYU Langone Health. "The fascia, which goes over the muscle, became extremely tight, crushing the muscle, veins and artery. That's why he was in so much pain."
Sanders' doctors had to perform a procedure known as a fasciotomy, which involves cutting the tissue containing the muscle, relieving swelling and pressure by allowing it to expand. This lessened the amount of permanent damage to his body.
"Ultimately they saved his leg, but the lack of circulation to the second toe and the first toe caused gangrene," Sheskier added. "More likely than not, the toes actually died. So they amputated those toes and closed it with some skin grafts."
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