It was not appendicitis that caused doctors to remove the appendix of two-time and defending AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies Tuesday in a Dallas area hospital, according to his mother Mary Spies. “They did remove his appendix,” confirmed Mary Spies, “but it was just precautionary. They wanted to eliminate it as a possible cause of his high-fever, pain and the fluid they found in his [abdominal] cavity. They said fluid in the cavity comes from organs weeping or an infection, and you don’t need your appendix anyway. So they were just trying to be very cautious and eliminate a few things, especially since he crashed on Friday [July 18] and they didn’t know if this was related to that.” Ben Spies had his appendix removed via a laparoscopic method, which involved several small incisions rather than a single, larger one. Using a laparoscopic method dramatically shortens the patient’s recovery time and reduces pain and also allows doctors to easily explore the abdomen looking for other problems, as in Spies’ case. Spies could have gone home Wednesday, but he has chosen to remain in the hospital to rest and rehydrate, according to Mary Spies. She said her son got very dehydrated during the AMA/MotoGP event at Laguna Seca. “If he continues to progress down this path and nothing pops up, he should be able to race at Mid-Ohio [August 1-3],” said Mary Spies.