Simms has spleen removed

Quarterback Chris Simms had his spleen removed in emergency surgery after Sunday's 26-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers, Simms' mother Diana has told the St. Petersburg Times. She said her son's spleen apparently was ruptured early in Sunday's game.

The Bucs say Simms is in stable condition.

It is thought the injury occurred in the second quarter. Simms took several hard hits during the game -- on several pass attempts and a touchdown run -- and he left the game once in the third quarter, reportedly to be treated for dehydration. The quarterback went down on a knee at the end of a Bucs possession, but he walked to the locker room under his own power. But he returned to help the Bucs take the lead in the fourth quarter.

After the game, he also left the field under his own power.

Simms was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. There, he underwent the emergency surgery.

Team physician Dr. Joseph Diaco released this statement Sunday night: "Chris Simms suffered an injury to his spleen during today's game and was taken to the hospital. He underwent a splenectomy (removal of the spleen) this evening and is in stable condition. Chris is doing well and we anticipate a full recovery."

At his postgame press conference, Jon Gruden had said of Simms:

"He got hit early and he hurt his ribs. We don’t know the extent of that, but he played hard today. He played tough and he showed a lot of grit. He really did. It is a credit to him. He made some big plays when we needed him. We tried a lot of things today — flea flickers and going for it on fourth down, and he responded to a lot of different scenarios. He is hurting right now, there is no question. He left the game. I don’t know that it was because of his ribs, dehydration or both. He is a very sore and tired man right now, and I am proud of how he hung in there against a very good run defense."

Doctors say a ruptured spleen is the most common serious abdominal injury caused by blunt trauma.

A ruptured spleen is a serious injury because it can cause patients to bleed internally. If it is not corrected, it can be fatal.

Doctors say that the severity of the injury is graded on a four-point scale, depending on how badly the organ has been bruised or torn. Sometimes the damage to the spleen and its blood vessels is so severe that the organ needs to be removed in order to control internal bleeding.

But in cases that are not as severe, treatment often becomes a judgment call. Whether patients are taken to surgery for a particular spleen injury often comes down to personal preferences of the surgeons or the particular policy of the hospital where the patient is treated.

Comments

We will be praying for Chris. He
had a great day and made us proud.
Joan Talley

[Bubba Stokes]

Gee, so this is what a fine fellow like Chris Simms gets for trying to live up to Gruden's idea of a culture of violence success story.

[TampaDude]

What is your source for this? I see nothing on CNNSI or ESPN about this, and it would surely be big news if Simms was really in critical condition, which means he could die. I hope not.

[El Jefe]

Yah, critical condition means high risk of death within 24 hours. i hope the reporter just accidentally used the wrong term.

[nacho libre]

Bruce Allen talked to Peter King and said he is not critical.

[TVS]

tbo.com also says critical condition, bay news 9 just says he's in the hospital, 28 says the same, 8 and 13 say nothing.

[Ms.T]

Chris...you are in our thoughts..know you will be strong and be better soon...hook 'em

[Daniel Smajovits]

Hopefully he is suffering from dehydration and perhaps pain from the ribs. He played a heck of a game, and I believe that he is starting to turn around along with the team for a very successful post-bye week playoff run. Believe it or not, this game was a true test of character that the Bucs passed with flying colors and it only makes me believe more that they have what it takes to finish the year strong and make the playoffs.

[Cody]

On ESPN news he has suffered a ruptured spleen and has had many blood transfusions.

[TVS]

NBC just said again, he is not in critical condition. Said the report was false. Good job, St. Pete Times and Tampa Tribune.

[TVS]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2601555

[LockBull]

Peter King on NBC said that spleen was removed, was in critical now stable according to conversation King had with Simms' mom

[DenverBucsfan]

My brother in law is a doctor....said this could easily end his season. :(

[TampaDude]

Does this mean Simms is out for the season, or what? Having your spleen removed is major surgery!

[El Jefe]

End his season? I'm in med school and i gotta wonder if this is the end of his CAREER. Spleen is pretty damn important for energy production. Ask anyone who's had Mono.

[DenverBucsfan]

Boss.....my bro in law also mentioned his career.....but I decided to leave that one out. Unreal.

[pantherFan]

He should be OK. Typically, a ruptured spleen can be one of the most serious complications of any abdominal trauma, simply because of the amount of blood lost, which is why a few transfusions were required. The injury is very serious (hence the status of critical) based on it nature of the injury, but is usually not life-threatening once identified and treated. He'll need plenty of recovery time, which means he'll probably be out for a few weeks, if not the rest of the season as a precaution. I wish him well, he played a hell of a second half.

[LockBull]

He played a helluva 2nd half, true, and I'll always give him that, but why was he even out there? This is one of the few times I wish I was a doctor, but I even could see he was suffering from my 12th row seat before the last Bucs FG. He looked very shakey around the 20 yd line, barely made it to the line and handed to Cadillac on 3rd down and about 6 or so when a pass was maybe a better call. I honestly believed at the time it was all he could to get to the line and hand it off, forget about attempting a pass, not when he was about to fall over! How he threw it so far on his last play is beyond me. Is this something a real DR can just overlook while the player is valiantly "sucking it up"? A little help needed from the medical community here!....

"Spleen is pretty damn important for energy production. Ask anyone who's had Mono."

Naah...it's the liver that is important for energy production. The weakness you feel from mono is from the action of the Epstein-Barr virus. I should know...I had a really bad case many years ago. I had NO energy for about 2-3 months after the acute phase ended. Mono SUCKS!!!

That said...I wish Simms a speedy and complete recovery.

[Clinton Mueller]

Chris Simms showed today that not only does he have the talent to play quarterback for the Bucs, he has heart that few Bucs players have shown.

Simms has had a rough start, while some of it was due to his own poor decisions, the blame MUST be shared equally between poor play calling by Gruden, and AWFUL offensive line protection (the only thing consistent in Gruden's tenure with the Bucs.)

Simms has been punished over and over again by 3 tough defenses, hit late with no calls, and NOT ONE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN protects him after such hits.

Simms playing through an ENTIRE HALF with brusied ribs and a ruptured spleen should never again be questioned by ANY PLAYER in the NFL as to his heart. He has earned a free pass for the rest of his career when it comes to heart.

Chris has said he has had to live in the shadow of his father's legend. Well for today, his heart, outshined his father's and the rest of the NFL.

May you have a quick and speedy recovery, and may God be with you.

[joseph]

sims showed guts and courage to play in 2H, but he is not a good QB at all. Hope he is well.

[mike]

does anyone realize that the bucs team doctor is a breast surgeon. I guess if any of the bucs needed fake boobs, he would be the best guy, but if you are suffering from a blown spleen for 2 hours, the guy cant diagnosis it.

what a crime. if i was simms i would sue.

[John Eriksen]

Ashamed to be a “Bucs Fan”

I have been a Bucs fan since the day I was able to pick a favorite team. After attending the game yesterday like I do every other game I am ashamed to be called a Bucs fan. Not because of the team, but because of the people who call themselves bucs fans. It is a term that now holds shame for me. I listened to about 75% of a crowd boo a young qb that less than a year ago took a young offense on his back and carried them to the playoffs. The same player they cheered and gloated about now is the same player they booed and called for his blood. Blood which dripped into his stomach as he lead his team to a remarkable comeback. And still this was not good enough. I held my head in shame as I heard about 75% of Raymond James stadium cheer as Chris Simms was helped of the field and an unproven rookie quarterback ran in.

I am not blind I see the problems Chris Simms displayed over the first two weeks. But if you want to call yourself a fan you stick with your team in the good and bad. I sat and listened to a season ticket holder walk in, sit down in front of me and bash the team every chance he got then cheered when Simms did his thing.

I have heard others bash our fans calling them band wagon fans. And to a degree I agreed but not so much. I started to see where our fans stood after Brad Johnson led our team to a Super Bowl than demanded his replacement not long after. Brad Johnson was a quarterback who played with cracked ribs and was a true warrior for this team and our fans ran him out of town. And still I had faith in our fans. That faith has been totally drained after the Carolina game. I listened after two games every so called fan called for the dismissal of Chris Simms and it disgusted me then and it makes me sick now.

Chris Simms showed his strength and poise during his play yesterday and the way he has handled himself off the field as well. Bucs “fans” now will get their wish as our team leader now lays in a hospital bed recovering from an injury; that he played an entire game with. They will get rookie Gradkowski. As a fan I hope our new quarterback leads us to the promise land but that is a far stretch. Our so called fans will get what they called for and it won’t be pretty. The chances are pretty good we won’t get to see Chris Simms in a Buc uniform again and that stinks. I sure hope if he doesn’t come back to play for us he becomes the pro bowl QB I know he is. As much as I hope he comes back to this team and I know we don’t deserve him.

Today is a very sad day for me because I no longer want to be referred to as a Bucs fan. This will always be my team but I don’t ever want to be associated with the “Buc’s Fans” that have shown their true ugly face in the past few weeks. I will be at all the games pulling for my team but be disgraced by the most of the fans who sit around me.

Sincerely

John Eriksen

[Vic]

Mr Eriksen, well said very well said.