April 6, 2011

Collateral Damage

Dunn Undergoes Appendectomy

by Marc Normandin

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Corey Dawkins and I filed Wednesday's Collateral Damage column late last night, but apparently not late enough. Adam Dunn went in for an appendectomy following Tuesday night's games, and is expected to be out for around a week, at the least.

As we detailed on Monday, there are two kinds of appendectomies: one that causes damage to healthy tissue and extends the post-surgery pain and healing process, and one that allows players to come back relatively quickly, due to its minimally invasive nature. Dunn had the latter, the laparoscopic variety, hence the expectation that he will miss so little time that a disabled list stint won't even be required (ala Matt Holliday).

As a quick refresher, or, if you missed Monday's column, a laparoscopic appendectomy involves a very small incision—we're talking one centimeter in length here—that allows a laparoscope to enter the body, so that the appendix and surrounding areas can be surveyed. Other similar incisions are made to allow the surgeons to remove the appendix itself, and these all close up and heal quickly—enough so that Dunn should be out of the hospital tonight or tomorrow, despite just going under the knife.

The White Sox will miss their newly-signed free agent slugger while he is gone, but, thanks to the laparoscopic procedure, that time frame is much shorter than it used to be.