Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond recently underwent successful nose surgery to repair a deviated septum that he originally injured in college, according to Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
The surgery was done in New York City, according to Ellis:
The Pistons center said Saturday he recently underwent nose surgery in New York City to repair a deviated septum that was first injured while playing at UConn, where he spent one season before entering the NBA draft in 2012.
“(I’ve) been playing with my right nostril for four years because I ended up (injuring my nose) some more after my second season,” Drummond said at an event in Fenton, where he unveiled his signature “Dre Burger” that has been added to the menu of the Michigan fast-food chain Halo Burger.
“I never really had a chance to really sit down and do a surgery. Last year, we made the playoffs and the year before that, I went to the Olympics. It was really tough for me to be out for six weeks and not be able to do anything.”
Once the season concluded, Drummond saw the perfect opportunity to have the procedure. So he traveled to New York, had surgery, and began a long, painful period of healing:
He (Drummond) said the deviated septum injury grew worse and breathing became a chore. His mother, Christine Cameron, who attends most games, urged him to correct the issue.
“This season was probably my toughest breathing year for me,” Drummond said. “It got progressively worse. My allergies were really bad and it was really hard for me to get that wind out there.
A few days after the regular season concluded, with the Pistons failing to reach the post-season, Drummond flew to New York City to have the surgery.
His mother said his nose was broken again as part of the surgery, and she described a process that left Drummond with black and bruised eyes for several days.
She had to assist in feeding him, which was difficult since his nose was bandaged. Drummond he had to eat and breathe at the same time through his mouth.
“Obviously you need both nostrils to play, but for me, I’m hard-headed and I didn’t want to (have surgery) until it was the right time to do it,” Drummond said. “I just said let’s figure out a way to breathe the right way until I get a chance to do it. That’s the way I played for four years. I made it work. I didn’t do that bad. I still went to the All-Star Game, I was All-NBA. I still made certain things work.”
Andre Drummond, according to Ellis, was recommended to stay away from basketball-related work for another month. However, that didn’t stop him from testing out how incredible it felt to play with two functioning nostrils.
Drummond has another month before he can engage in full contact basketball work. He was told to refrain from any exertion for three weeks, but played some basketball a few days ago. The breathing difference was noticeable.
“After I did my nose surgery, I was so eager to get back out there to see what it’s like to breathe through both nostrils,” Drummond said. “It’s nothing too heavy, just stuff to get myself going. It’s like trying to condition your body all over again.
“I’m not used to having both of my nostrils so I got to figure out how it feels to breathe through both nostrils. Right now, I’m doing just a little light exercise just to get myself going.”
Andre Drummond mostly had a down year this past season, seeing his scoring, rebounding and minutes played averages decrease from last year. Part of the reason why he struggled may be attributed to the issue with his nostril, as he alluded to.
The Pistons openly explored trading Drummond this past season, a league source told Def Pen Hoops, but ultimately decided not to deal the 23-year-old away. Should his numbers continue to decline next season, the end result certainly has the potential to be different this time around.
