Mets' Dillon Gee hopes to return in 2012
Dillon Gee gets a new baseball from home plate umpire Paul Nauert. (July 7, 2012) Credit: David Pokress
WASHINGTON -- Dillon Gee said Tuesday he expects to resume throwing in six weeks and remains hopeful of a return this season after having a shoulder artery repaired Friday in St. Louis.
"As soon as I figured out that I would be OK healthwise, my first goal is to get back as fast as possible in a healthy way," Gee said during a conference call with reporters. "Obviously, I'm not trying to jeopardize the rest of my career just to get back this year. But if I feel good, I would love to finish the year throwing again."
Gee, 26, spoke for the first time about the blood-clot scare and revealed the extent of the damage to his artery. According to the doctor, Gee's artery had narrowed by 96 percent, meaning that he was getting only 4 percent of the necessary blood flow to his arm.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Robert Thompson, who took a vein from Gee's groin and used it to "patch" the affected section of the artery.
"He explained that when pitchers get this, it's from all the torque because there's so many bundles of nerves and other veins and arteries around that area," Gee said. "Pitching over and over again, sometimes it stretches that artery or kinks it, and just the repetitive nature of throwing has kind of made the artery narrow like that and then that caused the clot."
Gee also said that he had numbness in the tips of his fingers off and on since 2010, but the condition reached a frightening crescendo after his last start July 7 at Citi Field.
"I don't know if finally just got one big clot from my shoulder or anything," Gee said, "but that Sunday, my entire arm just felt so tired and heavy and the hand was going numb, so it was definitely the worst it's ever gotten."
Notes & quotes: Lucas Duda received a cortisone injection Monday for his left hamstring strain and Terry Collins said he plans for the rightfielder to be available again Wednesday. "It feels better," Duda said . . . To activate Jason Bay for Tuesday's game, the Mets designated Omar Quintanilla for assignment.
