OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presentation

Brent W. Kay, M.D.

Welcome. I would like to start out by thanking everyone for attending our team presentation. Most importantly I would like to thank all those individuals, sponsors and businesses that have supported Floyd and the OUCH Pro Cycling Team. And to those courageous people who have endured the battle and kept the faith. Without you we wouldn’t be here. I would especially like to thank AEG and Andrew Messick for inviting OUCH to compete in the Tour of California. This race is rapidly becoming the biggest sporting event in the world and we’re honored to be a part.

So how did we get here? I met Floyd Landis late in 2002 on a training ride near my home. This was my first year in cycling after 20 years of triathlons and a worn out shoulder joint. Floyd completed his first Tour de France that year and was eager to get started preparing for 2003. He was very focused on helping Lance Armstrong win his record tying 5th straight Tour de France. After a couple rides Floyd called me January 11, 2003 as he lay on the side of the road with a broken hip. Most people with a broken hip are transported via ambulance to the hospital, but not Floyd. He was picked up by car and went home and took a shower before going to the hospital. An hour later I met him at the hospital where they had put him in the hallway. He was cracking jokes with the staff and they figured nothing was too seriously wrong. I took a look at his hip and it was black and blue and about the size of a basketball. He had completely fractured the ball of the hip joint off. He was taken to surgery that night and had 3 large pins inserted to hold the fracture together.

You don’t do the Tour de France 6 months after a complete fracture of your hip. That is, unless you’re Floyd. Despite complications and a second surgery Floyd was named to the team and finished the Tour de France that year, helping Lance win his record tying 5th straight title. He did the same thing in 2004 as Lance broke the record with his 6th Tour de France title.

But in November of 2004 he complained of progressive hip pain. Diagnostic tests revealed that Floyd had developed Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the hip joint. Avascular necrosis means “dead bone” is a common complication of fractures of the shoulder and hip joint. I suffered this in my shoulder following a car accident when I was a teenager so I was well aware of the condition when I broke the news to Floyd.

Floyd chose to have core decompression that winter and entered the 2005 season with no training at all, in fact he was on crutches and non-weight bearing until January of that year. We knew he would only have 1, maybe 2 years at the most following as this surgery is only palliative. Floyd suffered terribly that year but as the season progressed his hip pain lessened as the decompression took effect.

He knew 2006 would be the last for his hip and he start training hard in October to prepare for his last season. He came into 2006 in top form and won the inaugural Tour of California followed by Victories at Paris-Nice, the Tour of Georgia. His hip joint was completely ruined by this time and he required a series of corticosteroid injection (“cortisone”) shots in the hip just prior to and during the Tour de France. He won the Tour de France in dramatic fashion and on stage 17 made what is considered by many to be the greatest athletic comeback in all sporting history.

Of course everyone knows what happened from there. Floyd underwent hip resurfacing on September 27th, 2006.

The Six Million Dollar Man was a television show that first aired in 1975, the year Floyd was born. The Six Million Dollar man was an astronaut who crash landed on his return to earth, near death and clinging for life, his body was completely rebuilt with artificial parts. Pure fantasy at the time, he was dubbed the Bionic Man and as a result of his bionic body, he had unbelievable physical powers.

Joint replacement surgery was just starting at this time and having a joint replacement was considered extremely risky as these procedures were fraught with complications and were effectively a death sentence for many. Only a few years after the first trip to the moon, the Bionic Man was an inspiration to millions and one of the top rated shows of the time. The show itself inspired many scientists and physicians and joint replacement surgery surged through the 1980’s fueled by advances in surgical technique and prosthetic materials.

Bo Jackson, an All-Pro NFL running back and Major League Baseball All-Star developed Avascular necrosis in his hip and underwent hip replacement in the early 90’s. He made sporting history by returning to Major League Baseball in 1993 with a prosthetic hip. Unfortunately he ruined the hip and required several replacements after this. To my knowledge there has been no other top Professional athlete who has attempted such a feat since.

That is until now. In contrast to traditional hip replacement where the ball of the femur is removed, hip resurfacing spares much of the bone and is basically a cap on the end of the worn out bone. Floyd has made a complete recovery, is pain free and training at peak levels. We expect that he will not only return to the top of professional cycling but that the new hip will continue to function normally for years to come. So enjoy the show and watch the new Bionic Man turn fantasy into reality this year.

Thanks again for all of your support.