Luka Garza Undergoes Surgery

[Blair Sanderson]

Luka Garza Undergoes Surgery

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- University of Iowa men’s basketball sophomore Luka Garza is out indefinitely after undergoing successful surgery on Friday to remove a benign cyst in his abdomen. The announcement came Friday by head coachFran McCaffery.

“We are happy to hear that Luka’s procedure went well,” said McCaffery. “Luka has had a phenomenal summer preparing for his sophomore season and we look forward to him rejoining his teammates on the court later this fall.”

Garza (6-foot-11, 245 pounds) played in 33 contests, including 26 starts, a year ago as a freshman. The native of Washington, D.C., ranked first on the team in blocked shots (32), second in rebounding (6.4), free throws made (92) and free throws attempted (135), and third in scoring (12.1). Garza is one of two Hawkeyes to total 400 points and 200 rebounds as a freshman (Jess Settles). His 211 rebounds are the most by an Iowa freshman in program history.

Iowa opens its regular season on Nov. 8, when it hosts UMKC on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

 

[HawkAttackDial911]

This has got to be a bannable offense.

 

[Ballhawk1221]

Indefinitely? Hoo boy.

Here's hoping Luka makes a swift and complete recovery. If he's not 100% this year...

 

[Hawk68]

How about a Hawk Dr. giving us a little info on this procedure and a prognosis? I had a cyst removed years ago and it was no big deal.

 

[nu2u]

WTF? Get well Luka. I was really looking forward to Garza taking a big step forward this year and bumping those impressive freshman numbers. Kriener can't fill his shoes but certainly can give some quality minutes. This could be Jack Nunge's chance to step into a bigger role. In any event, best wishes to Luka and hoping for a speedy recovery.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

I really don't understand the indefinitely part - not even a range, or an estimate?

Get well Luka! We need you!

 

[perryhawk]

My wild azz guess is that he is back practicing full speed in 6 weeks....ready to play when the season starts. Maybe take a couple more weeks to realize being fully conditioned.

 

[icwesthawk]

Get well, we need you and all of your friends

 

[NevadaHawk]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to Luka. The team needs him big time if we are to have a good season.

 

[HawkPT]

How about a Hawk Dr. giving us a little info on this procedure and a prognosis? I had a cyst removed years ago and it was no big deal.

Totally depends on the location of the cyst. (Preface: Not my area of expertise) If it is in the inguinal region, its recovery could potentially be similar to recovery after a sports hernia. That's an unlikely location though, I'd think.

 

[Hawksfor3]

Indefinitely? Hoo boy.

Here's hoping Luka makes a swift and complete recovery. If he's not 100% this year...

I hope he does well also. Youth is on his side. He should recover quickly.

 

[jo2knight]

I'm no expert, but have had systs removed in the past.

I had a couple systs from my arms removed. They cut into your skin. So however long knife wound takes to heal. Think 1-4 weeks unless he had muscle cut. Depends on the size of the syst and what it was attached.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Strangely vague report. Not a bad time for a surgery, unless it was more than reported.

 

[ClearwaterHawkI]

I'm no expert, but have had systs removed in the past.

I had a couple systs from my arms removed. They cut into your skin. So however long knife wound takes to heal. Think 1-4 weeks unless he had muscle cut. Depends on the size of the syst and what it was attached.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Gotta be careful with those systs.

 

[And1Hawk]

Only with Iowa Basketball.....you can’t make this stuff up. We are looking to rebound and seem to be lining up our ducks in the best row we can and wham!

 

[Raptorpeeps]

Garza is a stud.

He'll be back quickly and even better than last year.

Love that kid!

 

[hawksense]

Cyst
Sister
Cistern
Insist
Exist
Garza has an ex-cyst

 

[SDHawkDoc]

Not nearly enough information provided to know how long he might be out.
Cysts can be nearly anywhere in the human body with varying composition and effect on important organs or structures. The best news provided is that there is no malignancy involved.

 

[Hawk_82]

I would take the vagueness to mean that the coaches and Dr.s do not have enough information yet. Any time a cyst is removed it is sent to pathology. This could take 1-6 weeks to have the results. Then there is healing time. Depending on how they found the cyst, it might impact how long it takes to heal. Was it next to a nerve causing pain, was the nerve impacted during surgery, was it in the muscle and affecting his mobility, was it on an organ.

Was the surgery laparoscopic or was it an open incision. Depending on pathology is there any other treatment or tests that needs to be done. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and none of us know those answers.

I wish him all the luck and hope to see him in uniform this year.

 

[Hawkeye Marching Band]

Cyst
Sister
Cistern
Insist
Exist
Garza has an ex-cyst

Called in an exor-cyst, and Garza will be just fine after a few weeks of light duty.

 

[HoustonHawkeye]

Called in an exor-cyst, and Garza will be just fine after a few weeks of light duty.

Did a priest perform this or a MD?

 

[And1Hawk]

Did a priest perform this or a MD?

Did the priest get an ‘a-cyst’ then?

 

[Hawkeye Marching Band]

Yeah, I think they got this guy to help. Lots of experience.

 

[go-hawks37]

Good luck to Luka and a speedy recovery!

 

[SnootHawk]

I talked to Fran yesterday during 3rd quarter of the football game. He said the surgery went well but it was a very serious and complicated situation. He said he didn't know when Garza would be back. But he was stoked about yesterday's commitment!

 

[L. Wade Childress]

I would take the vagueness to mean that the coaches and Dr.s do not have enough information yet. Any time a cyst is removed it is sent to pathology. This could take 1-6 weeks to have the results. Then there is healing time. Depending on how they found the cyst, it might impact how long it takes to heal. Was it next to a nerve causing pain, was the nerve impacted during surgery, was it in the muscle and affecting his mobility, was it on an organ.

Was the surgery laparoscopic or was it an open incision. Depending on pathology is there any other treatment or tests that needs to be done. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and none of us know those answers.

I wish him all the luck and hope to see him in uniform this year.

They know it’s benign so there has obviously been some path work

 

[Ronman]

I talked to Fran yesterday during 3rd quarter of the football game. He said the surgery went well but it was a very serious and complicated situation. He said he didn't know when Garza would be back. But he was stoked about yesterday's commitment!

That explains the omimous tone of his original release.

 

[mazda1]

Now that a few days have passed, do we have a better understanding of the exact nature of the procedure, when/if Garza might return this year, and what the line up might look like in the interim?

My gut reaction says our best line up would have Nunge/Baer at the 4 and Cook at the 5, but I suspect Cook wouldn't be content in the post since his future doesn't lie there.

Any news or ideas?

 

[RocknRollface]

Now that a few days have passed, do we have a better understanding of the exact nature of the procedure, when/if Garza might return this year, and what the line up might look like in the interim?

My gut reaction says our best line up would have Nunge/Baer at the 4 and Cook at the 5, but I suspect Cook wouldn't be content in the post since his future doesn't lie there.

Any news or ideas?

Actually Cook is exactly what allot of nba teams are looking for in a 5. Well if he was a good defender.

On offense, a guy who can set the high screen and finish the lob off the roll and still hit an occasional jump shot. And on D a guy who can switch every screen but still defend the rim and rebound.

The nba doesn't really have many post players anymore.

I would love to see Cook play mostly the 5 this year, play mostly man and switch all screens. It would eliminate so many of the defensive issues.

Most college teams dont have the patience, skill or experience to take advantage of the switches.

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

Any update on Luka? Is he recuperating at home or still in the hospital? Best wishes and a quick recovery to a great hustling Hawkeye.

 

[anon_gjzkhykcp9iuj]

Tough break for the kid. Get well.

 

[twindman]

Can't believe no news on Luka! Surely a teammate visited him in the hospital and could at least say he is feeling better or such???

 

[mazda1]

As tight lipped as the Hawks are being on this one, it can’t be good. If he plays this year it will be a bonus....imo.

 

[comet_y2k]

As tight lipped as the Hawks are being on this one, it can’t be good. If he plays this year it will be a bonus....imo.

Or at no point are fans entitled to know anything about a medical condition a college student has, and they dont feel its necessary to release anything.

 

[mazda1]

I don’t disagree that we have no need to know about the specific condition. However if there’s no talk of a return timetable after this much time has passed, to expect him to play this season is pretty wishful thinking again imo.

 

[paladinhawk]

I heard part of Fran's interview during halftime of the UNI game. Fran said Luka made a visit to the bball practice a few days ago. No comment about a possible return date, but it seems like Luka is able to get around.

 

[Obviously Oblivious]

I heard something the other day, podcast or on the radio, that Luka was expected to be back and ready when games start in November, so that's great news IMO.

 

[iabcuda]

While in high school, a friend had a 10 lb cyst removed, but not until her parents had put her thru hell because their Dr said she was pregnant.

The story is only relevant because now you can imagine the size of this thing.

 

[Besthawkfan]

While in high school, a friend had a 10 lb cyst removed, but not until her parents had put her thru hell because their Dr said she was pregnant.

The story is only relevant because now you can imagine the size of this thing.

Could you imagine how athletic he would be if he did remove 10 pounds of dead weight?