Lawrence in limbo after dislocation
WEST TIGERS centre Chris Lawrence will have to wait at least six weeks before he knows the full extent of the damage he suffered after dislocating his hip on Saturday night.
Lawrence suffered the injury, said to be one of the most painful possible, late in the Tigers' 34-24 win over Canberra, and spent most of yesterday in Campbelltown Hospital. He faces missing the season, but frustratingly will have little idea how his recovery is progressing for at least six weeks. Only then will he know whether blood supply has returned to the joint.
Lawrence, who had scored four tries in his opening three matches, will have a CT scan this week to ensure there was no fracture to add to the dislocation, which will put an even higher price on the Tigers' second victory of the season.
The 22-year-old was given Valium after being taken from the field, and required another dose when he was loaded into the ambulance. The joint was manipulated back into place at Campbelltown Hospital about two hours later.
That will be crucial when it comes to the time Lawrence is off the park. Lawrence and the club's medical staff will be mindful that he does not contract avascular necrosis, where the blood flow does not properly return to the joint area.
''It doesn't show itself for six to eight weeks,'' Tigers doctor Donald Kuah said. ''It takes that long to establish whether the blood supply is compromised. That's just something we need to wait on. It's not the usual thing where I can say he'll definitely be back in eight weeks. It will vary according to the severity of it.
''The way to avoid it [avascular necrosis] is to put it back in as soon as possible. The threshold is about two to three hours, so Chris had it put back in that time frame.''
Kuah conceded the most severe damage could be career-threatening, but there was a chance Lawrence might return in about three months.
The other issue clouding his prognosis is the fact the injury is so rare. Kuah said a Western Suburbs lower grader, Nu Akeripa, suffered the injury early in the season a few years ago and played again that season. In the NRL, Ivan Cleary suffered the injury while playing for the Roosters in 1999. He did the damage in a trial match in February, and returned to the field in August.
Ross Conlon, who suffered a dislocated hip while with Canterbury in 1983, saw no reason Lawrence would not be back to his best.
Conlon sent Lawrence a message yesterday to urge him to stay positive. ''I've got a fairly good understanding of what he's going through,'' he said. ''It's a terrible injury, it's incredibly painful and it's very rare, but I got back on the field and played for another 10 years, and I didn't have any detrimental effects. From a young bloke's point of view, it must be incredibly disappointing, but if the process is followed he'll have no problems.
''I did it in the first week of the semis in '83. I spent a couple of weeks in hospital and in traction. I was on crutches for a while but I was back on the field by about round four or five in '84. I would imagine the medical facilities and recovery are far better nowadays, too. I can't see any reason why he won't get back to his best. I'm sure he'll be back bigger and better than ever.''
Lawrence's left-side winger, Lote Tuqiri, will have X-rays tomorrow to confirm a broken arm, although Kuah is almost certain that was the damage he suffered, which might keep him off the field for more than two months, depending on the type of treatment it needs.
''I could feel the two bones moving under my hands,'' Kuah said.
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...n-limbo-after-dislocation-20110327-1cbzk.html
