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WebMD: Now We Look at NBA Recovery Times for Appendectomies
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Joel Embiid underwent a successful appendectomy on Thursday evening, according to the Sixers. They did not specify if the procedure was done laparoscopically, which is minimally invasive and results in shorter recovery times. The other way to perform the surgery is “open,” which is when they make a larger incision and enter the abdominal cavity.
The scribes pulled some recent comps for NBA appendectomies and their recovery times:
The laparoscopic procedure is typically a 1-3 week recovery period, though of course most people who get this done are not going right onto an NBA floor to play 36 minutes and bang in the paint. The open procedure takes three weeks or more according to “the Google.”
Looking at the Sixers’ remaining schedule, they have the Pacers on the road Friday night, then wrap up the regular season Sunday at home to Milwaukee. The play-in games take place between Tuesday and Friday, then the first round kicks off next Saturday, the 18th. So if the Sixers do make it through the tournament and get into the first round, it will be nine days after Embiid underwent the procedure.
If, by some miracle, he can make it back in two weeks, he’d return at some point in the first round. But it doesn’t seem likely. A second round return could be possible, but that would mean the Sixers beat the Pistons or Celtics or Knicks without Joel and without home court and that’s probably not gonna happen. There is a better chance of pigs flying over a frozen hell.
Gut instinct says Embiid doesn’t suit up again this year, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Play the song!
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com