Gee will have surgery to replace damaged artery

Jul 12, 2012 - 9:03 PM Flushing, NY (Sports Network) - Mets pitcher Dillon Gee will undergo surgery Friday to replace part of a damaged artery in his right shoulder, putting his season in doubt.

The Mets made an official announcement about the surgery Thursday. Gee was released from a New York hospital Wednesday following a procedure to dissolve a blood clot in his throwing shoulder.

Earlier testing at New York-Presbyterian Hospital showed the clot in an artery in Gee's right shoulder, which doctors were able to break up using a catheter.

Gee, who initially complained of numbness in the fingers on his right hand, is 6-7 with a 4.10 earned run average in 17 starts this season.

The Mets said the doctor who will perform Gee's surgery, Robert Thompson in St. Louis, has completed similar procedures on several professional baseball players.