Steven Stamkos has had surgery to remove a blood clot from near his right collarbone and is expected to miss one to three months.
The Tampa Bay Lightning' captain underwent a two-hour procedure on Monday, and according to Dr. Karl Illig, everything went normally.
"Everything went as expected for Steven. We plan to re-evaluate him in about two weeks and we should know more about his prognosis at that time."
Stamkos was suffering from Vascular Thoracic Outlet Syndrome; and more specifically, Effort Thrombosis. According to Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune, it’s the same diagnosis as Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had surgery on Sept. 3, 2015 and was back on the ice by Oct. 28.
Doctors appear to have removed one of Stamkos's ribs to alleviate the pressure.
Surgeons will likely remove Steven Stamkos’ top rib on his right side today to alleviate pressure that caused a blood clot to form near his collarbone. “It isn’t a rib like you’d think of, it is much smaller, more like the size of an index finger,” explained Dr. Thomas Forbes, vascular surgeon at Toronto’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre.
Forbes said that rib, which is bonded by the collarbone, constricts blood flow to the vein and can cause clotting with trauma or repetitive motion, such as raising your arms above your head.
The loss of Stamkos is a devastating one for the Lightning, who are already without Anton Stralman, who is recovering from a broken fibula.
Stamkos has 36 goals and 64 points in 77 games, which currently leads the Lightning.
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