A-Rod to go under the knife

Monday, March 9, 2009 -- Alex Rodriguez will undergo a hip-surgery on his torn right hip labrum but unlike a normal surgery, he will undergo a "Hybrid" procedure that will allow him to play only two months after the procedure. Specialist Dr. Marc Philippon said that A-Rod will be back in action within 6 – 9 weeks.

"The goal here is to allow Alex to rehab rapidly in a safe manner," Dr. Philippon said. "The approach we're using is much safer than letting Alex play the way he is now."

Brain Cashman, general manager of the New York Yankees said that there are three possible courses of action that could be taken. The first was to do nothing and monitor his progress while draining the cyst to give him flexibility. The other was to let Rodriguez undergo a proper surgical procedure that would rule him out of the game for about 4 months.

While his cyst was drained to obtain more information, Dr. Philippon had come up with a fourth option – Arthroscopic Surgery.

"Because of all the tests, findings, analysis and function of Alex, I feel it's in his best interest to have his labrum repaired, remove part of his impingement at the same time and therefore stabilize his labrum," Dr. Philippon said.

"(The procedure will) remove a little bit of the impingement, and by doing this, we will contain the cyst. The goal here is to stabilize Alex's labrum, remove a little bit of the impingement and allow him to have more freedom of movement in his hip."