(Updated) Veteran forward to have portion of colon removed due to diverticulitis

David Backes, who has been dealing with a bout of diverticulitis, will undergo surgery on Thursday to remove a portion of his colon, the Bruins announced Wednesday. The expected recovery time is approximately eight weeks.

Backes was diagnosed during training camp, and last week said he was off the medication, but admitted that surgery was still a possibility.

Here's the statement from team internist Dr. David Finn: 

"The decision to have surgery was made in consultation with team physicians as well as outside specialists in the management of diverticulitis. David’s episode of diverticulitis at the beginning of the season was his second episode in two months and was complicated with an abscess (collection of infection adjacent to the colon) that required drainage. Repeated episodes, like what David experienced, have a very high likelihood of recurrence in the near term, which is why he was advised to have surgery to remove the area of colon causing the problem. It was determined that attempting to delay the surgery until after the season was an unacceptable risk to his health.

"David was cleared to play in the team’s games on Oct. 19 while waiting for his colon to properly heal from the most recent episode of diverticulitis which sidelined him for the first five games of the 2017-18 season. David was at no additional risk while playing during this period, and he is having the surgery as soon as the medical team felt comfortable moving forward with the operation."

Dr. Jessica Flynn, our resident medical expert, helped to explain Backes’ situation. Backes also admitted that it runs in the family.

Here are the basics: “Diverticulitis occurs when a small outpouching of the colon becomes inflamed/infected. Sounds like Backes has had two episodes of this. It's often treated with antibiotics and rest. Given his young age, risk of recurrence, and history of abscess (a walled-off infection that often can't be just treated with even IV antiobiotics) they decided the best next step was partial colectomy (removing part of the colon). Sometimes this has to be done in two steps - diseased area is removed and the end is attached to a hole in the abdomen with an ostomy (or colostomy bag). Then a second surgery is done to reconnect the two ends and the hole is closed. In Backe's case, it sound like they are confident it can be a one-step procedure where they removed the diseased part and re-attach them with no need for colostomy bag. That recover is around 6-8 weeks. Often done laparoscopically (with cameras through small incisions). Recurrence is about 10 percent but usually people don't need a second surgery."