Brisbane Broncos star Deine Mariner has received some positive news following limb-saving surgery on his leg.
The 23-year-old developed acute compartment syndrome symptoms – severe swelling and pressure in the muscle – after the Broncos’ loss to the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.
Mariner briefly left the Allianz Stadium pitch with a corked thigh, but would return with 15 minutes to play after being passed fit.
But things took a worrying turn for Mariner when he reported severe pain a few hours after the full-time whistle.
The New Zealand-born star was rushed to hospital by ambulance for emergency surgery once the Broncos’ medical team realised the seriousness of the situation.
Mariner remains in RPA in Sydney’s inner west and is expected to be sidelined for up to two months.
Deine Mariner will ‘play again’ despite having limb-saving surgery according to specialist Dr Matt Hislop
Mariner (pictured with fiancée Grace) had reported symptoms of acute compartment syndrome after suffering a corked thigh in the loss to the Sydney Roosters
Dr Hislop has remained hesitant to put a timeline on the 23-year-old’s return due to the complicated nature of the surgery
Despite the worrying diagnosis, Matt Hislop the Broncos specialist is confident he will not be forced into an early retirement.
And even though Mariner will have to undergo further procedures, Dr Hislop gave a clear indication that he will return to action with the Broncos.
‘He will play again,’ Dr Hislop told The Courier Mail.
‘It’s just a matter of when we can do it safely and minimise complications for Deine down the line.
‘It’s too early to put a date on that.
‘I won’t make a comment on whether he comes back this year because you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
‘If it goes exceptionally well we will be accused of rushing him back, but right now Deine is a week-to-week proposition.
‘Early indications are promising, but the problem when you have that compartment syndrome and you open it up … I don’t know if you have seen pictures of that type of surgery, but it’s pretty brutal.
‘When we said it was limb threatening, we weren’t joking.’
Mariner’s leg will remain an open wound as they wait for the pressure to subside, with the leg being closed up in stages to ensure it doesn’t happen again
The surgery itself is quite a gruesome process with the wound kept open until the pressure has subsided.
‘It’s a cut from your hip down to your knee,’ Dr Hislop said.
‘The problem is the muscle bulges out because it is under pressure.
‘The issue is you have to close it up again.
‘You can’t close it up too soon, otherwise it will just happen again. For the next week or week-and-a-half, they will monitor Deine, he is getting awesome treatment in Sydney and they are giving us regular updates.
‘What they will try and do is close it up piece by piece, every few days.
‘It’s like cutting a sausage and all the innards fall out, then trying to tuck all that back in and stitch the sausage skin back together again.’
Speaking of the process that ended with Mariner having surgery, Dr Hislop said, ‘I was called to see Deine at 1.30am. It was obvious that his thigh had worsened.
‘He was in significant pain and the thigh was very firm.
‘We performed an ultrasound in the hope of draining a haematoma, but the swelling was diffuse within the muscle, and there was nothing to drain.
‘Thankfully, Deine still had functioning nerves and arteries in his leg, but it was apparent he was developing an acute compartment syndrome.’
An ambulance was then called as the race was on to save Mariner’s leg.
‘Paramedics were able to provide much-needed pain relief and Deine was transferred to the RPA (Royal Prince Alfred Hospital) ED department,’ Dr Hislop said.
‘A decision was made to perform limb-saving surgery and Deine was taken to theatre in the early hours of Sunday morning.
‘The length of recovery will be determined as the swelling in the muscle resolves.’
On Tuesday morning, Mariner’s fiancee, Grace, thanked the NRL community for their support for the 23-year-old.
‘Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your beautiful messages,’ Grace wrote.
‘They’ve meant more than I can put into words.
‘He’s taken the time to read every single one and truly felt all the love and support around him.
‘It’s been a really tough few days but he’s on the road to recovery.’
