Lynyrd Skynyrd's Van Zant Has Surgery

Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant had his appendix removed in emergency surgery Thursday night, the band's manager said.

Van Zant, 46, came out of surgery at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., around 10 p.m., said manager Ross Schilling. His condition was not immediately available.

"He had been feeling bad the past couple of days," Schilling told The Associated Press. "He had performances Tuesday and Wednesday and sucked it up last night as far as performing with some pain."

On Thursday morning the singer went to see a doctor, who determined through an ultrasound that the appendix was severely inflamed and emergency surgery was needed, Schilling said.

Van Zant is expected to need at least a week to recover, forcing the cancellation of three shows: Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif., on Friday; the U.S. Marine Corps base at Twentynine Palms, Calif., on Saturday; and Sunset Station Casino, Henderson, Nev., on Sunday.

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