Flyers' Chris Pronger to have "discectomy"

Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren announced yesterday that Pronger will undergo surgery today in New York City to relieve a herniated disc in his lower back. "The success rate for a surgery like that is usually about 95 percent," said Todd Wetzel, the vice chair of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at Temple's School of Medicine. "But that also means that five out of every 100 people will still experience chronic symptoms, like weakness, pain or numbness. For most people, that would be tolerable. But for a high-performance athlete, that may be a different story."
May 12, 2011 | Philadelphia Daily News