'Bionic' Silva sends holiday cheers

After undergoing surgery to repair his broken left leg, Anderson Silva is now with his family for the holidays. The long time UFC light heavyweight champion even took time out to thank his fans for the support and wish them a happy new year.

“I want to say thank you to all my fans and friends to support me at this moment, I wish a great and happy 2014 to all,” Silva posted on his Twitter account. He also attached a picture of him flanked by his family members all wearing his signature yellow.

Silva still managed to smile even if he had a 16 inch titanium rod inside his broken tibula. Even with all that discomfort, the fighter doesn’t look like he was in pain.Dr. Steven Sanders, one of the doctors who handled his Silva’s surgery, explained the process he went through in an interview posted on UFC’s website.

“His surgery involved stabilization of his tibia bone with an intramedullary device that was placed into the bone beginning up at the knee and advancing down toward the ankle,” Sanders explained. “Both bones were displaced or moved out from their normal alignment.”

The doctor said that a hole was made on top of Silva’s tibia bone. A nail was then inserted from that hole down to the ankle.

“The device in question is known as an intramedullary rod. This is a titanium rod measuring 40 centimeters in length and 11.5 millimeters in diameter,” Sanders said as he held up the nail. “Anderson has two screws at the lower end of the nail. Higher up at the knee, a single screw is also placed in order to help prevent any type of rotation at the broken bone site.”