Braves Pitcher Tim Hudson Undergoes Successful Back Surgery

by gondeee on Nov 28, 2011 5:00 PM EST

From the official Braves press release:

Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Tim Hudson underwent successful surgery today to repair a herniated disc in his back. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steven Wray at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. The injury, which had been bothersome for Hudson over the last two seasons, became progressively worse during his off-season workouts.

"Based on today's procedure, we are happy that this will help alleviate some of the discomfort that Tim felt," said Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren. "The prognosis is positive for him to be ready for Spring Training and to be able to pitch during the Spring Training schedule."

He was at the Auburn game on Saturday. I wonder if this surgery will slow the team's efforts to trade Jair Jurrjens. While the release says his prognosis is good, complications can arise in any surgery and recovery.

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Dude...

"I wasn’t thinking about it. That’s the worst celebration of all time. I didn’t know what to do. I got lost in the moment." - Brian McCann

by HansonManCrush on Nov 28, 2011 5:12 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Sweet...

#TeamSchafer

by panamera on Nov 28, 2011 5:39 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

What does my tattoo say?!?!

by Matthew Jones on Nov 28, 2011 6:02 PM EST up reply actions

Sweet, what does mine say?!?!

"If it's F'd up then it's F'd up" --- Gregg Marshall

by jwrocks on Nov 28, 2011 9:16 PM EST up reply actions

awful, awful, awful movie

http://sportsandgrits.com/

by Mr. Sanchez on Nov 28, 2011 9:46 PM EST up reply actions

Prognosis

I don’t necessarily agree with some comments in the OP and other posts on the thread with regard to the medical prognosis and the impact on JJ. For one thing, the Braves did not learn about Hudson’s back this week. They have known for months. The club has never shopped JJ aggressively, but they are tentatively interested in the right deal because of the timeframe until JJ’s free agency and the fact that Boras is his agent. Available FA pitchers may not satisfy the appetites of buyers this offseasin. This is the optimal time to get value back for JJ. If the market for JJ is right, the Braves’ plans will probably not be put in hold by Hudson’s back surgery. This is a commonly performed surgical procedure, and the prognosis these days in healthy athletes is basically for 100% recovery. I say this as a practicing physician who participates in the care of patients who undergo this procedure. Hudsin’s offseason workout program will obviously be altered, but he should be 100% by March or April. And, quite honestly, Hudson’s health and availability next spring will be more predictable and dependable than Tommy Hansin’s health. If the Braves hesitate to move a starter, Hansin (not Hudson) would be the reason. Even so, with the Braves almost certain to lose JJ when his current contract expires, and with Beachy/Teheran/Delgado/Minor/Gilmartin lined up and slotted for their future rotation, and with Medlen available for spot starts if needed, you definitely go ahead and close a deal now for JJ if the right package of players and prospects becomes available in return. The Braves know Hudson will be sound by the end of April, and most likely by Opening Day. That’s simply the medical reality.

by Messenger on Nov 29, 2011 8:44 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

Prognosis

Sorry about the misspelled names. It is hard to type this stuff on a cell phone.

by Messenger on Nov 29, 2011 8:50 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

Thanks for the expert medical..

but I don’t I wouldn’t single out this single incident as a reason why we should not trade Jurrjens; rather, I think this incident serves as a very real reminder of what can happen, and why depth is always necessary. Hudson was our most consistent and healthiest starter last year, but now has this with which to deal. Hanson has his shoulder issues. Jurrjens has his leg issues. Beachy was on the DL for a while. Minor, Delgado, Teheran are all rookies that will probably not be able to handle a large load this year. We need as much depth has we can.

by dlkinser86 on Nov 29, 2011 9:02 AM EST up reply actions

Thanks for the post, although in medicine there is really no such thing as a post-operative prognosis that “is basically for 100% recovery” – maybe 98% or even 99.7%, but some seriously unlucky patients will inevitably fall in to the established failure rate or post-operative complication rate for any given procedure.

Otherwise, I fully agree with what you said. If Wren finds a deal to his liking, he pulls the trigger and JJ is gone irrespective of the small risk that Huddy, Hanson or any of the others could have problems and not be ready for Opening Day.

by fandave on Nov 29, 2011 9:03 AM EST up reply actions

Prognosis

Well, again, I do this for a living. For that reason, I have seen and participated in thousands of these procedures. Hudson sought out a surgeon who is an expert in performing this surgical procedure. The technical details of this procedure have advanced a great deal in the last two decades. It’s a less invasive and more specific operation now, with very few unpredictable aspects in healthy, uncomplicated patients. Complications occasionally happen, but they happen in older and sicker patients. I cannot remember seeing a significant complication following this procedure in a young, healthy patient in a very long time. It isn’t a matter of luck. Hudson will be 100% ready to go in March or April. And, again, Tommy Hanson’s prognosis is much less clear than Hudson’s.

Again, the bottom line is this. JJ is a Boras client. He won’t re-sign with Atlanta because Atlanta won’t be able to afford him, and Atlanta won’t need him. So right now is the right timeframe to trade JJ and negotiate the best possible return, while a buyer can control JJ’s contract for more than one season. After dealing Lowe and JJ, the Braves would still have these starting pitchers lined up in their system:

Hudson
Hanson
Beachy
Minor
Teheran
Delgado
Gilmartin
Spruill
Graham

They also have Medlen, who can spot start, and Vizcaino, who could be stretched out at Gwinnett and groomed for the rotation if necessary.

Even without JJ, their 2012 rotation would still be crowded. I’m not saying I want to see JJ go. But his upside is what gives him trade value, and his agent is the factor that makes trading him necessary at this point. I think this happens unless Wren just can’t find the right fit with a buyer. I think this is where Wren will get his new left fielder, and he might also pick up a prosp-ect in the same deal.

by Messenger on Dec 2, 2011 2:55 PM EST up reply actions

I had no idea....

How is it that I had not heard Huddy would be having surgery? I really don’t think we trad JJ after this. I didn’t want to trade him either way.

by CaliforniaBrave on Nov 28, 2011 5:41 PM EST reply actions

I don’t see JJ going anywhere either. Hope Huddy recoups ok. What a good man.

"First!"...Who gives a damn if you are first

by bighop on Nov 28, 2011 6:43 PM EST up reply actions

didn’t think we trade him in the first place and after this it makes even more reason not to trade him. I wonder how Hanson’s shoulder is doing.

by Braves24 on Nov 28, 2011 8:41 PM EST up reply actions

Im just amazed at how great he’s pitched the last two seasons with this back “issue”

by drumzalicious on Nov 28, 2011 6:19 PM EST reply actions

Yep, this guy has been a true professional.

by vooodooo on Nov 28, 2011 6:33 PM EST up reply actions

Glad to hear everything went well. Speedy recovery to him.

Good ol' Teebs.

by TheLetter2 on Nov 28, 2011 6:24 PM EST reply actions

Huddy

is a badass. thats why.

"I Farted" - Me, everday

by HeyMikey on Nov 28, 2011 6:43 PM EST reply actions

This is not good

Backs are never the same after surgery. Most of the time surgery on the back does more damage than good.

by JLudwick on Nov 28, 2011 7:10 PM EST reply actions

Well now we just need some negativity to balance out this optimism!

by swainzy on Nov 28, 2011 8:03 PM EST up reply actions

that's really not necessarily the case, especially with a minor operation like this

But it does make JJ much more valuble, as everyone is saying. All four of our thoroughly experienced starters- Huddy, JJ, Hanson, and Beachy- have had injuries in recent times and that’s something to be a bit anxious about. Minor is the most experienced guy on the staff that won’t have an injury concern (I’m not aware of any anyway), and you never know how Delgado, Teheran, and Vizzy (assuming he’s a starter in 2012) will handle Major League hitters, their talent be damned. Maybe we really should take a swipe at Furcal on the FA market to fill SS (or….sigh….re-sign Sea Bass).

On second thought though….JJ’s expense and the fact that we have Hoover and other starters at AAA who could fill-in if a full clusterfuck disaster of injuries happened makes moving JJ still the smarter thing to do and gives up a SS bargaining chip….

…sorry for thinking out loud, but thar it is.

by crimsonqueen9 on Nov 28, 2011 8:44 PM EST up reply actions

My understanding is that

from most types of back surgery, especially the moderate to severe cases, the person’s back will never be the same. Often I have experienced/heard that it is almost better to avoid the surgery altogether, if it is at all possible. This is due to the fact that it can cause further nagging and long bouts of relative pain; in fact, it is not even 100% gaurenteed to actually alleviate the back discomfort.

On the brighter side of the spectrum, taking into acccount the previous statements, even though it is technically a “BACK” surgery, it is not dealing with the back muscles, so to speak. Huddy’s surgery is solely to remove some disks. This is a fairly simple surgery, and usually does not have lingering effects after the fact. It is merely a relative “cleaning up” procedure that is done solely to releive discomfort.

My father has had this same surgery, and it truly did wonders for him, but he will not have the actual back surgery that involves the muscles of his back, due to my previous statements.

Now this is solely, just my understanding of the whole process, and the differences between the two types of surgeries.

I think I should make this clear, because anytime anyone sees back surgery they freak out, and think of an ineffective,long enduring, and overall nagging process that surgery truly will really not fix most of the time.

If I am wrong please feel free to correct me, because like I said this is truly just my understanding from personal experience. I feel though as if this really is truly not a big deal, relate it to when players get their knees or shoulders cleaned out of bothersome bone spurs, or other painful but minor surgeries.

Sometimes I wake up grumpy; other times I let her sleep.

by chicagobullies on Nov 29, 2011 8:42 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

No offense, but your personal experience and opinion based on non-expert anecdotal evidence is really not entitled to much weight.

In modern medicine, there are multiple types of surgery to repair a herniated disc (singular) and the specifics of the procedure performed on Huddy, as well as the relative severity of his pre-operative condition, and the associated known failure rates and complication rates (as published in the professional literature based on large retrospective studies) are all simply unknown and unknowable to us, since all we have to rely on is the Braves’ press release.

It may have been “minor” surgery (as crimsonqueen9 suggests) or not.

With all that said, the physician, Messenger, who posted above, is in all probability pretty accurate in what he offered us.

by fandave on Nov 29, 2011 9:34 AM EST up reply actions