Surgery

Orioles manager Buck Showalter often talks about the importance of separating emotion from every play of a baseball game - every pitch, every swing, every catch. But the swing of emotion the Orioles rode Saturday night - seeing right fielder Nick Markakis come out of the game after he was hit by a pitch in the left hand, then hearing that their leadoff hitter will miss at least six weeks with a broken left thumb - was tough for even a veteran manager like Showalter to compartmentalize.

The Orioles were hoping Jim Johnson would go down to Triple-A Norfolk, regain his confidence and command and return to the club to occupy a key role at the back end of the bullpen. Now, they just hope he'll avoid right elbow surgery and be healthy enough to pitch for the club again this season. Johnson, who made one appearance at Triple-A Norfolk after his May 1 demotion, will visit orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., this week to get a second opinion on his elbow.

Injured Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada is still holding out hope for better news, but one of the team's biggest offseason investments might need Tommy John surgery to repair his left elbow, he said before Thursday's game. Wada has already seen Orioles team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens but is planning to fly to Los Angeles this weekend to see Dr. Lewis Yocum for a second opinion on his elbow. "[My] elbow is feeling better compared to last time I pitched, but the results of the MRI was not so good as I thought it would be," Wada said through interpreter Seob Yoon . "So I'm going to get a second opinion, see [what]

Jared Gaither said he will not require surgery on his injured back, but also insisted that he will not return to the field until he is completely healthy. Gaither said Tuesday he has been diagnosed with a thoracic disc injury, a condition involving a herniated disc in the upper back that can cause, among other symptoms, pain and numbness. Gaither's account differs slightly from the organization's assertion that the Ravens offensive tackle was dealing with a tear in his back that was causing his back spasms.

North Carolina junior midfielder Duncan Hutchins will miss the 2013 season as he will be undergoing back surgery and will redshirt, the team announced Friday. Hutchins, a Baltimore native and Gilman grad who has played on the Tar Heels' first- and second-team midfield units the past two years, has been troubled by back problems since his arrival at North Carolina.  In consultation with doctors, he elected to undergo surgery in January and will miss the spring semester during his recovery.  He will return to school in the summer, and it is anticipated he will make a full recovery and be ready to compete with the Tar Heels in 2014 and 2015.

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Orioles left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada has overcome a significant hurdle in his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Manager Buck Showalter said Thursday that Wada has completed the rehab portion of his return and will now work toward getting game ready. “Now he's going to progress to baseball function ability,” Showalter said after watching Wada throw a bullpen session on Thursday morning. “The breaking ball is going to start. It's exciting watching him throw.

WASHINGTON -- White House press secretary Tony Snow, who underwent surgery in 2005 for colon cancer, said yesterday that a series of medical scans had turned up a small growth in his lower abdomen and that he would have it surgically removed on Monday. He said at least one set of scans was negative, as were blood tests looking for a return of the cancer. "But out of an aggressive sense of caution," he said, he would undergo the surgery.

COLLEGE PARK - Maryland junior receiver Steve Suter didn't practice yesterday for the second straight day and is facing the possibility of knee surgery. Suter suffered cartilage damage in his left knee against Eastern Michigan on Saturday. He said he thinks the injury occurred during the first half of the Terps' 37-13 win, but he kept playing anyway. "It was pretty brutal on Sunday," Suter said. Suter will try to practice today, but if he can't, he'll have surgery later this week, he said.

Mike Devereaux and Chris Hoiles underwent successful surgery yesterday, and both are expected to be ready for the start of spring training in February, Orioles vice president and general manager Roland Hemond said.Both players had surgery at Children's Hospital. Dr. Charles Silberstein stabilized the ulna bone fragment in Hoiles' right wrist. The wrist was fractured June 21, when Hoiles was hit by a pitch from Tim Leary of the New York Yankees. Hoiles' wrist will be in a cast for six weeks, and he will then begin an extensive rehabilitation program.

A day after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles' tendon, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs remained upbeat and confident that he'll return and play meaningful football during the 2012 season. "Everything went good, he was in and out," Suggs told The Sun's Mike Preston of the surgery, which was performed in Charlotte, N.C. by noted foot/ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson. "There is only a small incision, and he said it was not as bad as some thought it was, which I had already been told.