It’s not quite been a year since it looked like the world might lose another of wrestling’s all-time greats. Ric Flair’s recovery since being in critical condition following surgery last August, itself an emergency procedure after he was admitted to intensive care the weekend before by his family, has been remarkable.
Though you wouldn’t know it from the hip-hop icon’s busy schedule, Flair is still in the process of recovering. He’s facing a big step in that process next Monday (July 9) when he’ll undergo surgery to reverse an ileostomy which was performed during his 2017 health scare.
As Pro Wrestling Sheet reported after speaking with Flair’s fiance Wendy Barlow, during the now the 69 year old’s surgery last summer, doctors created an opening in his abdominal wall which brought a portion of his small intestine to the surface to allow waste to drain into an external pouch (similar to a colostomy). The goal of the operation Flair will undergo next week is to eliminate the need for a bag that needs to be drained.
It’s likely a good sign that doctors have decided to reverse the stoma (meaning to close the opening), but it’s still a major procedure. Keep Naitch and his family in your thoughts as he heads in for pre-op this weekend (July 7), and we’ll keep you posted.