Surgery Gives NBA Pro a Second Shot

Growing up in Douala, Cameroon, Christian Koloko dreamed of playing in the National Basketball Association. He made it there in 2022—only to face the possibility a year later that his basketball career was already over.  

“When I first got drafted, that was the biggest achievement in my entire life,” said Koloko, who stands at 6 feet, 11 inches. “Every kid’s dream is to hear their name called, so it was a big moment for me and my family.”

Koloko started his career in Toronto, but his excitement was short-lived.

“During my rookie season, I started experiencing some shortness of breath and I was getting tired much more quickly than usual,” Koloko said. “I went to see my doctors with the team because I just felt like something was wrong.”

Testing found a blood clot in Koloko’s lungs. With no indication of where the clot was coming from, Koloko was placed on blood thinners, which sidelined him for most of the following season because the medication could cause severe internal bleeding if he was injured on the court. His team released him from his contract, and he was placed on the NBA's fitness-to-play panel—meaning no team could sign him until he was medically cleared.

“I went to see so many different doctors, but the response was always the same,” Koloko said. “They couldn’t find the source of the clot, so I was just going to have to be on blood thinners the rest of my life and I wouldn’t be able to play basketball anymore. After just one season, I thought my career was over.”

But Koloko and his family pressed on for answers, turning to Cedars-Sinai for another opinion. That’s where he met Ali Azizzadeh, MD, director of the Division of Vascular Surgery at Cedars-Sinai and associate director of the Smidt Heart Institute.

“When we examined Christian, we found that his left arm was three centimeters bigger in diameter than his right, which suggested a narrowing of the vein,” Azizzadeh said. “We performed a venogram that revealed a major clot in the vein draining his left arm, allowing us to diagnose venous thoracic outlet syndrome.”

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition caused by pressure on blood vessels or nerves in the space known as the thoracic outlet between the neck and the shoulder. Koloko was experiencing a rarer type of TOS—known as venous TOS—in which the subclavian vein is pinched between the collarbone and first rib, causing damage and narrowing the vein.

“In Christian’s case, chronic overhead trauma likely led to scarring in the vein draining his arm. This scarring narrowed the vein and allowed clots to form,” Azizzadeh said. “We tend to see this in athletes—including basketball players, baseball players and swimmers—due to the repetitive overhead movements in their sports.”

To fix the issue, Azizzadeh and his team at Cedars-Sinai surgically removed Koloko’s first rib and some of the muscles that are connected to it to make more room for the vein. They also removed scar tissue from around the vein, placing a patch to make the vein bigger and allowing blood to flow freely. This meant Koloko could stop taking the blood thinners that were keeping him from the game—and job—he loved.

Just a few months after surgery and rehabilitation, Koloko was cleared to play by the NBA and back to his regular workouts on the court. He will kick off the 2026-27 NBA season this fall playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. With preseason just around the corner, Koloko is glad to have his health issues behind him.

“I’m just grateful for everything,” Koloko said. “Getting back to playing basketball, I’m grateful to Dr. Azizzadeh, my family and everyone who supported me during that process.”

When the season starts, Azizzadeh will be rooting for him.

“I’m glad to see Christian back on the court, and I’m looking forward to watching him play this season,” Azizzadeh said. “This is his second chance to be a true NBA star, and we’re delighted to have played a role in helping him get there.”

Read more from Cedars-Sinai Stories and Insights: Understanding Vascular Malformations