Tomer Avraham, MD, with Cherie Marcus
It was Tuesday evening, May 17, 2016, and Cherie Marcus, 62, had stopped at a corner on Central Park West, waiting to cross the street. Suddenly, a runaway car struck a taxi, which then rammed into Ms. Marcus, crushing her legs. When she was taken by ambulance to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, orthopaedic surgeon David A. Forsh, MD, thought she had a 50-50 chance of losing one or both legs. Today, after nine surgeries and several months of physical and occupational therapy, Ms. Marcus—with her legs preserved—is walking almost normally.
Dr. Forsh, Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma, Mount Sinai Health System, and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed surgery to control the bleeding, irrigate her wounds, and place external hardware to stabilize the tibia and fibula in both legs. A week later, when the soft tissue began to heal and some of the muscle swelling had subsided, he operated to insert rods and plates in both legs.
After assessing the extensive bone loss and muscle and soft tissue damage, he called on Tomer Avraham, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery (Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery). Dr. Avraham would begin a series of seven tissue transfer surgeries on Memorial Day weekend.
“We had to take skin and fat from her thigh, transfer it with its blood supply, connect the small blood vessels under the microscope, and do repeated rounds of skin grafting,” Dr. Avraham says. Throughout the process, doctors warned Ms. Marcus that infection might set in and
complications might still necessitate amputations. “I’ve seen worse injuries, but not on anybody who ended up keeping their legs,” Dr. Avraham recalls.
During the long process, patient and physician bonded, Ms. Marcus remembers. “I had complete faith in Dr. Avraham,” she says. “He was very approachable and easy to communicate with. He answered all our questions and he was always in touch with my husband.” She also recalls, “I’ll never forget the day when, after weeks of emphasizing that amputation could not be ruled out, Dr. Avraham walked into my hospital room, smiled, and said, ‘I think we have a win.’”
Throughout the process, Ms. Marcus remained optimistic, which her doctors believe played a role in her recovery. Also key to her recovery was the diligence with which she pursued physical and occupational therapy at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s to help her relearn to walk. “They were all so helpful,” she recalls of the staff. “Everyone was so positive, the nurses’ aides, the people who took my food order, even the maintenance people. And, I can’t say enough nice things about the nurses.”
On the mend in July, Ms. Marcus was transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility, where she spent six weeks, followed by physical therapy at home for a month. She recently completed two months of outpatient physical therapy and plans to continue strengthening and conditioning at a local gym in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where she lives. In addition to her doctors, she is grateful to her supportive network of family, friends, and colleagues from the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Public Theater, where she worked prior to her accident. “It’s an astounding recovery,” says Dr. Avraham. “She’s an amazing lady.”