Jeffrey Green is a forward for the NBA Boston Celtics basketball team. After a college career at Georgetown he was one of the top draft picks in 2007, playing first for Seattle and later returning to the Celtics for the 2010-2011 season.
As part of a physical examination related to his contract for the 2011-2012 season, he was found to have an aortic root aneurysm. He underwent a valve-sparing aortic root replacement operation with a Dacron graft on January 9, 2012.
We’ve talked previously here at the blog about aortic root aneurysm, or enlargement of the aorta just as it exits the heart. There have been discrepancies in the media coverage of the details of Green’s situation, but aortic root aneurysm can develop in individuals with bicuspid aortic valve or Marfan’s syndrome. A handful of other NBA players, including Green’s Celtics’ teammate, Chris Wilcox, have had similar operations. I’ve also written about triathlete, Normann Stadler, who had a similar but urgent operation when a large aortic root aneurysm was discovered unexpectedly.
Green made a very quick recovery from operation, returning to dedicated rehab in March and returning to basketball by summer. He signed a new 4-year contract with the Celtics in August and had an outstanding 2012-2013 season.
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