Dana White undergoes radical surgery for Meniere’s disease in Los Angeles
It takes a lot for UFC President Dana White to miss a day of work. From traveling the world over to focusing on what has become a neverending job, he seems to be constantly on the pulse of the MMA world. But one thing has brought him down recently, and that’s his highly publicized bout with the obscure Meniere’s disease.
White wrestled with taking medicine to combat the effects, and also considered having the nerve cut. Today, however, he has decided to go to a specialist in LA to have a radical surgery performed, something he described to MMA Junkie:
“They’re going to cut my ear off. My left ear, they’re going to cut it off so they can get inside. They’re going to insert a tube, and this surgery is pretty new – within the last year, I think, this surgery has come out.”
“They have to get inside there to insert a tube, so they have to go in there and go through the hole. They insert a tube, and then they reattach the ear.”
“There were only two options before. There was medicine, which gave you a 50-50 chance of never having an attack. Then there was cutting the nerve, which is a very serious surgery. That’s only 95% if they cut the nerve. Nothing is 100% for this thing.”
White acknowledged that Meniere’s disease is a rare ailment that makes other illnesses absolutely pale in comparison:
“I’ve been traveling all over the world for 13 years. I’ve had the flu. I’ve had food poisoning. I’ve had just about everything you can have, and it doesn’t faze me. I just keep going. This thing puts you down.”
From the sound of things, White’s surgery is quite invasive with no guarantee of success. But he has never been one to only bet on sure things, evident by his acquiring of the UFC when it was considered “human cockfighting” as it remained a largely unknown sport. White is optimistic about the surgery, but he knows the risks as well:
“I’m going to see how I bounce back from this thing. I imagine my ear’s going to be really sore. I don’t know. I’ll see how I feel.”
“I hate missing fights. I love being at the fights. It’s what I love about doing this job. You do all the work to lead up to it, and the payoff is the fight.”
“I appreciate everybody with all the kind words. I love this sport, and I love everybody in it, and it’s awesome.”
“This isn’t a negative thing. It’s a positive, and I’m excited about it.”
Love or hate Dana White, it’s hard not to root for the President in this situation. Here’s to hoping that his recovery is swift and effective.
