Deion Sanders Weighs Foot Procedure With Risk of Amputation

The Buffaloes football coach met with doctors and discussed options for his ailing foot.

Deion Sanders’s health issues have been well documented. The new Colorado coach has undergone several surgeries to his left foot, including getting his big toe and second toe amputated as a result of blood clots blocking blood flow. 

Now, it appears Sanders could lose his whole foot if he were to proceed with another procedure. 

In a video posted by Thee Pregame Show, a YouTube channel that follows the Buffaloes football program, a meeting is shown between Sanders and several medical professionals, including orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kenneth Hunt and vascular surgeons Dr. Donald Jacobs and Dr. Max Wohlauer of CU. The team’s athletic trainer, Lauren Askevold, was in attendance as well. 

In the meeting, Sanders says he has no feeling in the bottom of his foot and explained that he lives with constant pain and wants to straighten one specific toe out that is “dislocated.” Sanders is clear he wants something done during the offseason to address his pain, but the doctors proceeded to explain just how serious his condition is. 

Wohlauer said the circulation in Sanders’s ankle was just 66% of the blood pressure compared to the rest of his body, and Jacobs didn’t hold back when going over potential risks of the specific procedure they’re weighing. 

“You just have to understand what the risks are,” Jacobs said. “Things can cascade.”

Sanders responds with, “Well, I know what risks are. I only have eight toes. So, I’m pretty sure I understand.” 

The comments that followed left Sanders with a nervous smile. 

“He could lose the foot,” Jacobs said. “It’s a risk.”

It’s not totally clear what else, if anything, the doctors were weighing besides straightening out his toe, but it’s clear Sanders has some tough decisions to make going forward when it comes to his health.