Zednik on road to recovery from slashed artery
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik lost five units of blood, but doctors never considered his life in jeopardy after the player had his carotid artery nearly severed by a teammate's skate in a freak and frightening accident.
Zednik underwent an hour of surgery to reconnect the artery Sunday night and was listed in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Buffalo General Hospital on Monday. He was awake and cooperative with the medical staff, doctors said.
Attending surgeon Sonya Noor said there were no initial signs of brain damage, which is a fear whenever the coratid artery is clamped. She said clamps were in place for about 15-20 minutes during surgery, which she considers a short time.
"So far, he looks very good. He's awake, oriented," Noor said. "He remembers what happened last night."
Zednik was sliced across the right side of the throat by teammate Olli Jokinen's skate midway through the third period of Buffalo's 5-3 victory. Doctors said the skate blade just missed cutting the jugular vein.
The carotid artery supplies blood to the brain, while the jugular vein takes blood from the brain. Blood pressure is much higher in the carotid artery.
According to Noor, the slashed artery was "hanging by a thread." She stressed if the artery had been completely severed it would have recessed into the neck, requiring even more extensive surgery.
Prior to surgery, doctors noted that Zednik's blood pressure was dropping, and there also was swelling around the cut making it difficult to breathe. Doctors put a tube in his neck to open an airway.
Robert McCormack, the hospital's clinical chief of emergency medicine, said: "We became concerned. He was clearly in shock from blood loss. His heart rate was high; his blood pressure was a bit low."
Vascular surgeon Richard Curl, who assisted Noor, said the cut was about an inch-and-a-half deep and also as wide. Doctors were astonished the skate blade did not hit any other arteries or veins or cause any further damage.
"Luck," was a factor, according to Noor.
"He might have some hoarseness and that's about it at this point," said Noor, who said Zednik had a "normal, beautiful artery."
The Panthers returned home to South Florida following the game, a flight coach Jacques Martin said was "pretty quiet."
However, Zednik was joined at the hospital by his wife, Jessica, and Karen Cohen, wife of Alan Cohen, who is the Panthers' general partner, chairman of the board and CEO, hospital spokesman Mike Hughes said in a release. The two arrived by charter flight late Sunday.
Zednik will remain in the ICU at least one more day, but it is uncertain when he will be discharged and allowed to return to Florida, Noor said. It will be 6-8 weeks before he can return to normal activity.
"The entire Panthers organization wish to extend their sincere gratitude and appreciation to the medical staff at Buffalo General Hospital, the Buffalo Sabres organization, the HSBC Arena staff and to the Panthers and Sabres fans who have expressed their thoughts and concerns," said Panthers assistant general manager Randy Sexton.