Steelers Standout Undergoes Surgery

Roethlisberger Will Miss Season Opener After Appendectomy

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent an emergency appendectomy yesterday and will miss the NFL's season opener Thursday when the defending Super Bowl champions host the Miami Dolphins, according to Steelers Coach Bill Cowher.

It was not immediately clear how long Roethlisberger will be sidelined. During a news conference, Cowher called his quarterback's status week-to-week. One factor that will aid Roethlisberger's recovery is that, according to reports, the surgery was laparoscopic, a minimally invasive surgical technique.

"The surgery went well," Cowher said. "He is obviously going to be out this week and we will go week-to-week from there."

Backup quarterback Charlie Batch is scheduled to start for the Steelers against the Dolphins at Heinz Field.

Roethlisberger had participated fully in training camp and the exhibition season after suffering head injuries in a motorcycle accident in June. But he wasn't feeling well when he reported to the Steelers' practice facility yesterday and was examined by the team's medical staff, which had him taken to a nearby hospital for the appendectomy.

In a laparoscopic appendectomy, cameras and surgical instruments are inserted through small incisions and the patient's appendix is removed through one of those tiny incisions, generally without a large incision in the abdomen being required. That reduces the length of the patient's hospital stay and reduces the recovery period compared to the recovery period that follows an open appendectomy. Roethlisberger was scheduled to remain hospitalized overnight and his representatives were hopeful that he would be released today.

Cowher said the procedure that Roethlisberger underwent was similar to the one that Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward underwent in 2002. Ward missed two exhibition games, but was in the Steelers' lineup for their regular season opener.

The Steelers have 11 days between Thursday's opener and their second regular season game Sept. 18 at Jacksonville. The team was looking for an experienced quarterback to go with Batch and rookie Omar Jacobs, who is on the practice squad. Batch went unbeaten in two starts last season when Roethlisberger had a knee injury.

"This is why Charlie is here," Cowher said at his news conference. "Charlie will be fine. It's a situation that can happen to any football team. You can go out there and have a starter go down, whether it's an ankle or something else of that nature. That's the nature of the business. . . . This is the situation we are being dealt and we are not asking for any pity, nor are we going to make any excuses. We are going to get ready for Miami accordingly."

Roethlisberger had been impressive in training camp and during the preseason after recovering from the injuries he sustained in a June 12 motorcycle accident in Pittsburgh. He underwent seven hours of surgery for facial fractures after being thrown from the motorcycle that he was riding and slamming headfirst into the windshield of a car. He wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.