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Dick Vitale shares medical update, will need additional vocal cord surgeries
Dick Vitale shared an update on his medical situation on Thursday morning.
The legendary broadcaster revealed he will be undergoing an additional surgery on his vocal cords on July 11.
The surgery means Vitale will have to rest his voice for 6-8 weeks following the procedure.
Here’s Vitale’s announcement:
The biggest challenge is that I am currently on voice rest in preparation for surgery on July 11 & post surgery I must be on total voice rest for 6-8 weeks in recovery. That part is so frustrating as I feel trapped not being able to express myself . The positive news Dr Z is…
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 22, 2023
Vitale was initially diagnosed with lymphoma back in 2021. Vitale announced he was cancer-free back in November of 2022.
His 2021-22 season was cut short as he dealt with vocal cord dysplasia. However, he was able to make a full recovery in time for the 2022-23 campaign.
On Thursday, Vitale said doctors are “optimistic” he will be healthy enough to be in the booth in 2023-24 for his 45th year at ESPN. Depending on his recovery, the initial 6-8 week timeline would give Vitale enough time to return to broadcasting before the start of the 2023-24 college basketball season in November.
Vitale has been calling college basketball games for ESPN since the 1979-80 season.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.