 The angle at which Zach Miller's left leg bent was so horrifically wrong that there was little doubt the Bears tight end was seriously injured Sunday afternoon at the Superdome in New Orleans. When Miller landed awkwardly while trying to make a touchdown catch in the Bears' loss to the Saints, he dislocated his left knee and tore the popliteal artery behind the knee. That is the artery that primarily provides blood flow to the lower part of the leg, and the disruption of blood flow puts amputation into the conversation unless addressed properly, according to three surgeons who deal with such injuries. The Bears announced Monday that vascular surgeons at University Medical Center New Orleans stabilized Miller's injury, which was diagnosed as a torn popliteal artery. Miller quickly went from the stadium to the hospital, where surgeons stabilized the injury by using a vein from his right leg to repair the artery, Bears coach John Fox said. Per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, Miller needed emergency surgery at a New Orleans hospital last night in an effort to save his leg. Miller was not "out of the woods by any stretch," Fox said, "but it's as good as could be expected at this point." Knee dislocations can involve extensive damage to three or four of the joint's major ligaments. A source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen later Monday that the artery was found "shredded from above the knee joint to below the knee" by the vascular surgeons, who diagnosed Miller's injury as lateral subluxation. I couldn't believe it," Bears receiver Tre McBride said about a potential amputation. I didn't realize that (amputation) was even a possible consequence of having a dislocated knee, so when I heard that that was the last thing I was expecting to hear. "Obviously you wouldn't want that to happen to anybody, especially somebody who I personally have kind of leaned on since I've been here as an older vet and a role model. But I'm glad that he's doing well, and I'm sending him all the positive energy that I can and I hope that he's back 100 percent soon." Fox also spoke with Miller on the phone Monday and said Miller was in good enough spirits he argued he made a touchdown catch on the play he was injured. Miller originally was ruled to have caught a 25-yard touchdown from quarterback Mitch Trubisky, but replay officials overturned the call. He won't be coming back to Chicago any time real soon." "I think that's always a concern," coach John Fox said when asked about amputation. "Obviously, with any kind of vascular issue, you don't want altitude, you don't want people flying around.
– Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller suffered an ugly-looking knee dislocation in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, but according to an ESPN report, the reality is even uglier. The network reports that a "regular dislocation" would be considered "serious," but sources tell the network's Chris Mortensen the 33-year-old experienced something worse after landing weirdly on his leg after jumping to make a catch (video here): a damaged artery in the leg. Those NFL and team sources say vascular surgeons operated on Miller Sunday night "in an effort to save his injured left leg," as ESPN puts it. Tissue was reportedly grafted from the right leg. The Chicago Tribune quotes Bears right guard Kyle Long as saying of the injury, "It's brutal, gruesome. I didn't watch it after I saw it the first time." Deadspin notes such an injury wouldn't be unprecedented in the league: Raiders running back Napoleon McCallum suffered a career-ending dislocation that damaged an artery during a 1994 game.