ABC NEWS: Bono injured in rehearsal, undergoes emergency back surgery

[Pop Artist]

Either way, I think Glastonbury is the marker. I think you'll hear about the next 5 or so gigs getting formally canned in the next couple of days, and soon enough the strongest rumours will start coming from the Glastonbury camp, not the U2 camp. Whether they are staying in, whether they are canning it, or whether a big replacement is getting lined up, etc. If we get wind of Glastonbury definitely being off, then I think that's a pretty good sign that the whole US leg could go.

It's happening already...

Dizzee eyes U2’s Glasto spot | The Sun |Showbiz|Bizarre

 

[Benji2112]

when that happens maybe hes just getting too old for all this

but hey, bono seems to have the same idea as mick jagger that rock and roll gives them a chance to not grow old

The Nile is not just a river that runs down africa.

None of the Stones have back issues, and they are 10 years older. Charlie Watts is like 67 or 68 . Keeps the beat the same as 20.

To this day, very few bands have the physical energy of the Stones. If you have never seen them. Go.

You'll really be amazed

 

[U2girl]

It's happening already...

Dizzee eyes U2’s Glasto spot | The Sun |Showbiz|Bizarre

I'd be surprised if we get any U2 shows at all this year...

 

[Benji2112]

Considering how long he's been walking around in them in apparent comfort and agility, I'd say the shoes aren't the problem.

Unless you're suggesting his desire to appear taller (vanity) outweighs his comfort.

What's the saying ? " It's better to look good than to feel good " I don't know about that, but it's out there

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I don't think it was the silly GOYB dance or the wheelmic or the zoo station karate kick.
It probably was a long way coming and I think they tried to treat it without surgery as long as possible, but that didn't work out, so an operation was inevitable.
Not planned as they had wanted to solve the problem in another way (as they knew a surgery would probably put the tour in jeopardy) and therefore when surgery was needed, it was dubbed "emergency" as it was not planned / unexpected.

Not sure about that. The story on u2.com implied he injured himself during tour preparation. I interpreted that to mean that he injured himself during a workout session, (not necessarily rehearsing) but some other type of workout. His past back problems probably made him more prone to a serious injury anyway. I don't doubt he tried to see if it would get better without surgery, but I assume the doctors he consulted didn't think whatever he injured would heal on it's own.

well... you could both be right.

he could have had some long lingering thing that was acting up, he went to get it checked out and the doctors found something that they hadn't seen before and said he needed the surgery immediately...


orrrrrrr he had an accident during prep, which seems to be the common thought, especially considering as they haven't release any info. not really hard to imagine him falling at some point with all the ramps and moving parts... the bridges, loosing his grip in the swinging ultraviolet microphone, etc. etc.

 

[Benji2112]

Sad, I hope the problem is not a bad one. With all the stuff he tries to do for the would it's too bad he has to suffer through this.

Anaheim was going to be my first U2 show and I was lucky to get GA field tickets.

I totally agree that I realley hope he does not try to come back early and injure himself even worse which could lead to retirement.

I hope when the tour does start back up there is some way to keep my ticket spot since I doubt I could score them again.

The promoter will be very happy to let you keep your ticket, to use at any replacement show. Very Happy. If you have a few million other ticket holders who will do the same, they will LOVE you

 

[BVS]

None of the Stones have back issues,

Close friends are you?

I'd be surprised if we get any U2 shows at all this year...

This is a rather silly speculation.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

This is a rather silly speculation.

disagree.

i agree that i don't think we'll see any u2 shows for at least quite a while, at least until the fall.

there is nothing minor about emergency spinal surgery. i would guess that the reason further announcements haven't been made are because they're trying to figure out if anything can be saved this year, and how to work it out.

i'd say best case scenario, the late summer european shows still go on with some US dates in the fall, reshceduled from the spring dates.

of course i hope i'm completely 100% wrong.

 

[corianderstem]

I don't think there was any specification that it was spinal surgery.

Not that it means the outcome will be all sunshine and puppies regarding a tour start date, but just sayin'.

 

[popacrobat]

with a microdiscectomy the usual healing time is around 2-4 weeks. it could be longer or sometimes even shorter depending on who. I highly doubt we see the entire leg scrapped.

 

[BVS]

Well this fall is still this year.

The truth is we don't know what kind of surgery or procedure it was, so any speculation is just that... speculation

But to already rule out Sept or Oct dates is a little on the silly speculation side.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Surley Paul Mc knows the seriousness of the injury? and surley they will have been through it all with the surgeons and dr's involved? so why would they just postpone one show? the dr's will know the timeframe so to postpone just one show now, when people are speculating that anything from 5 to the whole US leg could be scrapped is a bit strange.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

There's been nothing on exactly what he's done, right?

I just think 'emergency' surgery in this case could easily truly be 'emergency', i.e. serious, but it's just as likely that it's not, and it's just an extreme approach taken to hasten recovery. Athletes have 'emergency' surgery all the time, none of it actually an emergency, and often not to injuries that necessarily even require surgery, but in reality just 'surgery of great urgency' due to wanting the fastest of recoveries.

Of course Bono could have truly fucked something right up, given himself a proper spinal injury and thus truly needed emergency surgery - in which case any chance of gigs any time soon would of course be, well, zero - but he could have also done something relatively ordinary that normally faces a couple of months of rehabilitation and recovery with some potential for re-injury, but with surgery, knocks that down to a few weeks and significantly less chance of re-injury. Kill a few gigs now, perhaps save many later on.

 

[popacrobat]

There's been nothing on exactly what he's done, right?

I just think 'emergency' surgery in this case could easily truly be 'emergency', i.e. serious, but it's just as likely that it's not, and it's just an extreme approach taken to hasten recovery. Athletes have 'emergency' surgery all the time, none of it actually an emergency, and often not to injuries that necessarily even require surgery, but in reality just 'surgery of great urgency' due to wanting the fastest of recoveries.

Of course Bono could have truly fucked something right up, given himself a proper spinal injury and thus truly needed emergency surgery - in which case any chance of gigs any time soon would of course be, well, zero - but he could have also done something relatively ordinary that normally faces a couple of months of rehabilitation and recovery with some potential for re-injury, but with surgery, knocks that down to a few weeks and significantly less chance of re-injury. Kill a few gigs now, perhaps save many later on.

I thought I read that it was a microdiscectomy somewhere. maybe I'm imagining that. I'll look up where I read that after I get back from lunch.

 

[Earnie Shavers]

If that's true, then he could be back on stage very quickly - might depend more on whether he's comfortable being a relatively inactive frontman. Mild onstage 'exercise' would be fine, but he wouldn't be running around, jumping around, pulling all the rockstar moves etc. But he could easily get up there and do gigs. That would still make a return around Seattle pretty achievable. But then this isn't exactly a theatre tour, the 360 stage with a mostly stand-still/walk around Bono might not be how they want to do it.

 

[U2girl]

McGuiness' Statement

"The band were really looking forward to getting back out on the road until the emergency surgery on Bono's back, which took place in Munich today."

It is spine surgery.

 

[corianderstem]

re: spine

Did I miss an article about the nature of the surgery?

 

[BVS]

McGuiness' Statement

"The band were really looking forward to getting back out on the road until the emergency surgery on Bono's back, which took place in Munich today."

It is spine surgery.

"surgery on Bono's back"

I was told he got a mole removed.

There are all kinds of levels of surgery on the back. Stop jumping.

In fact the latest rumour out of Germany was a slipped disc.

 

[corianderstem]

Is a "slipped disc" the same thing as a "herniated disc"?

(Not trying to start more rumors, just asking for general knowledge, I swear!)

 

[BVS]

Is a "slipped disc" the same thing as a "herniated disc"?

(Not trying to start more rumors, just asking for general knowledge, I swear!)

Yep, same thing.

 

[corianderstem]

Thanks!

 

[Niceman]

i bet that cavemen wandering around killing wooly mammoths barefoot didn't have so many back/leg/foot problems.

I bet they made some amazing footwear from the mammoth skins and furs!

 

[Pop Artist]

I thought I read that it was a microdiscectomy somewhere. maybe I'm imagining that. I'll look up where I read that after I get back from lunch.

I don't think there has been any news about that, what somebody said was that Bono's surgeon is known for using that procedure, but we don't know if he actually had that done.

 

[U2girl]

"surgery on Bono's back"

I was told he got a mole removed.

There are all kinds of levels of surgery on the back. Stop jumping.

In fact the latest rumour out of Germany was a slipped disc.

No one is jumping.

He had surgery on his spine. Consistent with the Germany reports and his own reported issues with a herniated disc in the past, there is most likely only one kind of spine surgery in question.

 

[corianderstem]

Is that because herniated discs are putting pressure on the spine? Hence "spine surgery"?

 

[Niceman]

I'd be surprised if we get any U2 shows at all this year...

Yep.....

 

[BVS]

No one is jumping.

He had surgery on his spine. Consistent with the Germany reports and his own reported issues with a herniated disc in the past, there is most likely only one kind of spine surgery in question.

No, there has been all kinds of speculation on what kind of surgery it was.

Posters have speculated on everything from spinal chord surgery, to true emergency surgery, to fairly minor surgery.

 

[BVS]

Is that because herniated discs are putting pressure on the spine? Hence "spine surgery"?

Putting pressure on a nerve. And the microdiscectomy that some are talking about removes a small portion of bone or disc so to remove that pressure.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

"surgery on Bono's back"

I was told he got a mole removed.

There are all kinds of levels of surgery on the back. Stop jumping.

In fact the latest rumour out of Germany was a slipped disc.

you are right in that nobody should jump to conclusions, but emergency back surgery involving a team of neurosurgeons would lead most to believe that he did not have a mole removed...

Neurosurgical conditions include primarily brain, spinal cord, vertebral column and peripheral nervous system disorders.

Conditions treated by neurosurgeons include:

--Chiari Malformations
--Spinal disc herniation
--Spinal stenosis
--Hydrocephalus
--Head trauma (brain hemorrhages, skull fractures, etc.)
--Spinal cord trauma
--Traumatic injuries of peripheral nerves
--Brain tumors
--Infections and infestations
--Tumours of the spine, spinal cord and peripheral nerves
--Cerebral aneurysms
--Stroke, including hemorrhagic stroke and stroke
--Intracerebral hemorrhage, such as subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraparenchymal, and intraventricular hemorrhages
--Some forms of drug-resistant epilepsy
--Some forms of movement disorders (advanced Parkinson's disease, chorea) – this involves the use of specially developed minimally invasive stereotactic techniques (functional, stereotactic neurosurgery) such as ablative surgery and deep brain stimulation surgery
--Intractable pain of cancer or trauma patients and cranial/peripheral nerve pain
--Some forms of intractable psychiatric disorders
--Malformations of the nervous system
--Carotid artery stenosis
--Vascular malformations (i.e., arteriovenous malformations, venous angiomas, cavernous angiomas, capillary telangectasias) of the brain and spinal cord
--Peripheral neuropathies such as carpal tunnel syndrome and ulnar neuropathy
--Moyamoya disease
--Congenital malformations of the nervous system, including spina bifida and craniosynostosis

so while we don't know exactly what bono had done... we do know that it was done by a team of neurosurgeons, and there aren't many things that neurosurgeons do that aren't sorta a big deal.

Risks
There are many risks to neurosurgery. Any operation dealing with the brain or spinal cord can cause paralysis (systemic), brain damage, infection, psychosis or death. However, before neurosurgery is performed, neuroimaging tests (CAT, MRI, PET) and a comprehensive physical and psychological examination are generally done that can help to minimize the risk of serious impairment, paralysis, or death.

hopefully, god willing, it's simply a herniated disc. but those surgeries tend not to be "emergency." in fact most herniated disc's don't require surgery at all and it's a last resort and something that is planned for months. so unless they're using the term "emergency" to make people who had to cancel flights and hotels feel better about doing so, i tend not to think that it was that.

 

[lazarus]

Hello! Hello! We're at a place called Lumbago!