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Steelers James Harrison Undergoes Successful Surgery On Monday

By Michael Bean

Good news. Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro linebacker James Harrison underwent successful back surgery on Monday, a week after he was scheduled to go under the knife. Harrison came down with a fever last Monday which forced the operation to be moved back until today.

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Dr. Joseph Maroon performed what's known as a discectomy to remove a piece of herniated disc off a nerve that had been bothering Harrison all season.

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"Everything went great," said Bill Parise, his agent. "the consensus was no one could figure out how he could play through the season. It was significant but textbook. The surgery went exactly as they wanted it to. James' recovery should be complete."

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Beyond being relieved to hear that the surgery was a complete success, I was surprised to read about Harrison being significantly bothered by lingering pain ins his back this past season. I mean, the man played and started in all 19 of the team's games, reached the 100-tackle plateau for the first time in his career, recorded at least 10 sacks (10.5) for the third straight season, forced five or more fumbles (six) for the fourth consecutive season, and set career highs in interceptions (two) and passes defended (four). Incredible.
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And to think he was feeling somewhat limited! Scary stuff for the rest of the NFL if Harrison does indeed make a full recovery for the 2011 season.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.