Andre Drummond had surgery to repair deviated septum

Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond just revealed he had surgery to repair a deviated septum. Will it change what we see out of him on the court?

What is Detroit Pistons‘ center Andre Drummond been up to this offseason? Well, besides releasing his own Halo Burger burger, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press had this interesting scoop this afternoon:

Drummond suffered the injury way back in late October of 2011. At a Connecticut practice, he broke his nose and suffered a concussion and wound up wearing a mask for a few games a result. All these years later, he’s finally repaired the resulting deviated septum.

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A deviated septum is when the bone between your two nostrils is crooked. This can result in restricted air flow (hence the basically breathing through 1 nostril” Ellis cited), a diminished sense of taste and smell,  more frequent, sinus infections, headaches, low quality of sleep and more. Others with a deviated septum have also reported that they become tired very easily, a constant sluggish feeling that becomes even more noticeable when doing physical activity.

Drummond told Ellis that he played basketball recently and could feel the difference post-surgery, also saying that breathing “became a chore” for him out on the court in recent years.

After reading up on some of the benefits of septoplasty, the medical term for surgery on a deviated septum, it’s very possible that the Pistons’ big man is in line for a serious quality of life improvement.

The biggest benefit of the surgery is improved nasal airflow, which leads to increased oxygen levels in the blood. Nearly all studies on patients post-surgery find that this leads to several other benefits. These include the ability to breathe freely, an improved sense of smell and taste, and better sleep quality. Those who’ve had the surgery also report fewer sinus infections, common colds, nosebleeds, and headaches.

One common thread I’ve noticed after reading multiple people’s first-hand accounts of their experiences after the procedure is that their only regret is not having gotten the surgery sooner. Some people go so far as to say it changed their lives.

Drummond has had a successful five-year career so far. Could a free-breathing Drummond be even better? Perhaps increased airflow and oxygen levels could improve his focus on the court and eliminate those mysterious nights where he lacks energy.

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The skeptics will say that surely this has had little effect on his play if he waited this long to fix the problem, but benefits of the surgery speak for themselves. Only time will tell if we see positive changes in Drummond on the court as a result of the surgery.