Tulane player has 3-hour surgery to stabilize spine; prognosis unknown
Tulane football player Devon Walker underwent a three-hour operation on Sunday to stabilize his spine after he broke his neck during a game at Tulsa on Saturday, but it's still unknown whether he'll be paralyzed.
The Tulsa athletic department announced the surgery with the following statement, as reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune:
"According to Tulane University's team physician Dr. Greg Stewart, Devon Walker underwent surgery this afternoon. In a three hour surgery at St. Francis hospital in Tulsa, neurosurgeons stabilized his spine. He is now in recovery and we anticipate Devon will remain in ICU (intensive care) for the next few days. He is in stable condition and it will be several days before we can assess his condition post-surgery."
Walker's long-term risk of paralysis is "unknown," Stewart said.
"The reality is you don't know for 24 to 48 hours," Stewart told the Times-Picayune Saturday night.
Walker stayed overnight Saturday atTulsa's St. Francis Hospital, where he was in traction and treated for swelling in his spinal cord.
The team returned to New Orleans Saturday evening, but did not practice on Sunday.
Stewart told the Times-Picayune Sunday evening that Walker did have some feeling in his extremities after colliding with teammate Julius Warmsley in an inadvertent helmet-to-helmet collision while trying to tackle a Tulsa player.
