ALMS

Tomas Enge medical update 2007-04-06

Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Driver Anticipated Back in ALMS by July INDIANAPOLIS, IND., April 6, 2007 -- Following surgery to repair his fractured left elbow, doctors anticipate that Tomas Enge (a native of the Czech Republic ...

Published: Apr 7, 2007, 6:26 AM

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Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Driver Anticipated Back in ALMS by July

INDIANAPOLIS, IND., April 6, 2007 -- Following surgery to repair his fractured left elbow, doctors anticipate that Tomas Enge (a native of the Czech Republic living in Monaco) will make a full recovery from injuries sustained in a brutal accident nearly one week ago in St. Petersburg, Fla. The surgery, performed this morning at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis by Dr. Tim Weber, Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon at OrthoIndy, went so well that expectations may place Enge back behind the wheel of the No. 31 MMPIE/PAWS/Petersen Holdings Ferrari F430 GT possibly as early as The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix at Lime Rock Park on July 7. Enge is expected to be discharged from Methodist Hospital on Sunday or Monday.

Dr. Weber performed the operation in two hours. According to Weber the surgery went smoothly with the fracture coming together in great position. Enge's elbow took two plates and a number of screws. The popular driver has no cast and will return in two weeks to OrthoIndy for the removal of the sutures. At that time, Dr. Weber will determine the progress of the healing and then prescribe a rehabilitation routine for Enge. Included in that routine, Weber anticipates, barring any unforeseen complications, to start Enge driving go- karts to exercise the muscles in the elbow and arm. The progress from that point forward will determine the Czech driver's fulltime return to the cockpit of the Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing Ferrari.

OrthoIndy, which uses Methodist Hospital for acute orthopaedic trauma surgery, has more than sixty orthopaedic specialists. It is the largest private, full- service orthopaedic practice in the Midwest, and one of the largest in the country. The doctors and nurses at OrthoIndy are specialist in the field of sports injuries and serious traumas such as those sustained by Enge.

Enge was injured in a single-car accident at approximately the two hour mark of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 31st. While the left elbow was the most serious of injuries, Enge suffered a contused lung, cracked ribs and severe bruising in the accident. Those injuries are healing on their own. He was transported by private motorhome earlier this week from Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg to Methodist Hospital.

Additional information will be made available as events warrant.

Electronic well wishes are welcome and can be sent to Tom@PetersenMotorsports.com and will be forwarded to Enge.

Quotes:

Dr. Tim Weber:

(About the Surgery): "It all went really well. I was very, very pleased with how the elbow came back together again. Every piece of bone keyed right back together so it is exactly how it was. There is no splinter cast so we can encourage movement. We will see him in about two weeks for suture removal. The most important thing is that the overall boning architecture came back very well so we are off to a good start."

(About Enge's Recovery): "We just need to give it time to start healing and then we can start working on how long he will be off the track. His return will be based on how quickly his motion will return. We will start first by getting his motion back and, once his reflexes are back, we can start moving him towards a go-kart. Depending how well he does will determine how soon he will be back in the car."

(About Additional Treatments): "The only remaining treatment will be to radiate the elbow. With this particular injury some of the muscle will turn to bone if left untreated. It is more common the longer that the surgery is out from the injury. If the muscle turns to bone it will hurt his range of motion. We will give Tomas a small dose of radiation which will help eliminate that concern."

Michael Petersen, Team Owner:

"The call from Dr. Weber was the best news we have had since we learned that Tomas was awake and alert almost a week ago. In the short time that Tomas has been a part of Petersen Motorsports/White Lightning Racing, we have all formed a strong friendship. So, our primary concern is not business, it is about our friend. To hear the surgery went well is the most important thing. To hear he will be back with us at the track so soon is just the icing on the cake. On behalf of the whole team, I want to thank everyone at Methodist, OrthoIndy, the American Le Mans Series, Bayfront Medical, Dr. Weber and everyone that has kept Tomas in their thoughts and prayers."

To learn more about OrthoIndy, please visit www.OrthoIndy.com

More on Petersen Motorsports/ White Lightning Racing can be found at www.PetersenMotorsports.com

Please visit Tomas Enge's web site at www.Tomas-Enge.com for more on Enge.

-credit: pm/wlr

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