On December 12, 2011, Jenks had another surgery, this time to remove bone spurs from his back. He was supposed to have only two removed. According to Jenks, Dr. Kirkham Wood, head of the orthopedic bone unit at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), started to remove a third bone spur and didn't finish it. This allegedly created a serrated edge that later sliced Jenks' back open in two places, causing him to leak spinal fluid and triggering an infection in his spine. Jenks was forced to undergo emergency surgery on December 28, only two weeks after his first back procedure. Due to his muscles being "torn open," as he put it, Jenks was bedridden for seven weeks. The Red Sox placed Jenks on the 60-day disabled list, and ruled him out for at least the first three months of the 2012 season.