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How might Geno Smith's surgery affect his return to Jets? We asked a doctor
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(Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Print Email Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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on August 14, 2015 at 11:20 AM, updated August 14, 2015 at 5:03 PM
Geno Smith on Thursday had surgery on his broken jaw, and the Jets confirmed he had to have plates and screws inserted instead of having the jaw wired shut.
So: Will that affect the six-to-10-week timetable for Smith's return? No, according to Dr. James Gladstone, the co-chief of sports medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
To be clear: Gladstone did not evaluate Smith personally. But he agreed to offer his professional opinion to NJ Advance Media over the phone based on his understanding of what's known about the nature of Smith's injury.
"In some respects, needing plate and screws could indicate that the injury is worse" than if Smith had needed to have his jaw wired shut, Gladstone said. "There are many fragments of bone that have to be pieced back together. That could be done better with plates and screws than with the wiring."
Gladstone said the plates and screws were likely used because Smith, the Jets' quarterback, had more than one break in his jaw, which squares with a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter that said Smith's jaw had been broken in two places thanks to a punch from then-teammate IK Enemkpali.
"By using the plate and screws, you're aligning it straight and putting the pieces back together sort of like jigsaw puzzle, which putting a cast on or wiring the jaw shut can't do," Gladstone said.
Plates and screws also ensures "as perfect an alignment as possible" with the bones, Gladstone said.
None of this, however, will likely affect the initial timetable of six to 10 weeks Smith was given Tuesday, the day of the fateful punch. The bones still have to heal.
"That's a biologic process," Gladstone said. "That takes the same amount of time, whether you're just holding things in place with the wire, or whether you have it in place with the plate and screws. The timetable doesn't change."
A six-week return would have Smith back in time for the Jets' Week 3 game against the Eagles. Ten weeks would take until Week 7 at the Patriots. Not that it matters all that much. Head coach Todd Bowles has said Smith's job is not guaranteed upon his return, and it also sounds like Smith is losing the locker room.
Gladstone also said as long as Smith returns to action once the bones have healed, he shouldn't be at any additional risk of injury beyond the sort that football normally presents to players.
"Once bone heals, it's essentially as strong as it was before," Gladstone said. "In football, you get concussions, you get neck injuries, you get call kinds of extremity injuries and joint injuries. But you rarely hear about a football player breaking his jaw, and I think that's because the helmet does protect that area of the face."
Dom Cosentino may be reached at dcosentino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @domcosentino. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.
1 / 23
(Amanda Marzullo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Print Email Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Dom Cosentino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on August 14, 2015 at 11:20 AM, updated August 14, 2015 at 5:03 PM
Geno Smith on Thursday had surgery on his broken jaw, and the Jets confirmed he had to have plates and screws inserted instead of having the jaw wired shut.
So: Will that affect the six-to-10-week timetable for Smith's return? No, according to Dr. James Gladstone, the co-chief of sports medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
To be clear: Gladstone did not evaluate Smith personally. But he agreed to offer his professional opinion to NJ Advance Media over the phone based on his understanding of what's known about the nature of Smith's injury.
"In some respects, needing plate and screws could indicate that the injury is worse" than if Smith had needed to have his jaw wired shut, Gladstone said. "There are many fragments of bone that have to be pieced back together. That could be done better with plates and screws than with the wiring."
Gladstone said the plates and screws were likely used because Smith, the Jets' quarterback, had more than one break in his jaw, which squares with a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter that said Smith's jaw had been broken in two places thanks to a punch from then-teammate IK Enemkpali.
"By using the plate and screws, you're aligning it straight and putting the pieces back together sort of like jigsaw puzzle, which putting a cast on or wiring the jaw shut can't do," Gladstone said.
Plates and screws also ensures "as perfect an alignment as possible" with the bones, Gladstone said.
None of this, however, will likely affect the initial timetable of six to 10 weeks Smith was given Tuesday, the day of the fateful punch. The bones still have to heal.
"That's a biologic process," Gladstone said. "That takes the same amount of time, whether you're just holding things in place with the wire, or whether you have it in place with the plate and screws. The timetable doesn't change."
A six-week return would have Smith back in time for the Jets' Week 3 game against the Eagles. Ten weeks would take until Week 7 at the Patriots. Not that it matters all that much. Head coach Todd Bowles has said Smith's job is not guaranteed upon his return, and it also sounds like Smith is losing the locker room.
Gladstone also said as long as Smith returns to action once the bones have healed, he shouldn't be at any additional risk of injury beyond the sort that football normally presents to players.
"Once bone heals, it's essentially as strong as it was before," Gladstone said. "In football, you get concussions, you get neck injuries, you get call kinds of extremity injuries and joint injuries. But you rarely hear about a football player breaking his jaw, and I think that's because the helmet does protect that area of the face."
Dom Cosentino may be reached at dcosentino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @domcosentino. Find NJ.com Jets on Facebook.
