Lindsey Vonn credits the doctor who “saved her leg” after a major accident

Lindsey Vonn says she almost lost her leg after a severe accident at the Winter Olympics, and thanked the doctor who saved her from needing an amputation.

The American ski great, 41, has undergone multiple operations since breaking her leg and ankle in a women’s downhill skiing event in Italy on February 8.

Speaking in an Instagram video on Monday,, external She praised her injuries for saving her leg and described the injury as “the most serious, painful and challenging” of her career.

Vonn said her leg was “torn” and that she was suffering from compartment syndrome — pressure within the muscle, which limits blood flow — and that the surgeon performed a fasciotomy, an emergency operation, to relieve the pressure.

“Dr. Tom Hackett saved my leg, he saved it from amputation,” she said.

“He cut both sides of my leg, so it was open and allowed it to breathe so to speak. He saved me.”

Vonn, who returned to the United States last week after four surgeries in Italy, said she has now left the hospital and been moved to a hotel, calling it a “huge step.”

She added that she will be in a wheelchair “for a while” because in addition to breaking her leg, she also broke her ankle.