Saints fans hope for best as Brees undergoes surgery

NEW ORLEANS, La. (WVUE) - New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees went under the knife in Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 18).

Brees posted on social media as he went into the operating room at Cedars- Sinai Hospital as fans hold their collective breath.

After getting opinions from two different doctors, Brees posted, “Heading into surgery with this beautiful girl by my side this is what she gets to do on her birthday today. I love you Brittany more and more every day.”

As Brees gets his thumb operated on, fans hope for the best.

“I hope he will come out okay. He’s such a great quarterback we need him. I pray that he will come back and the hand will be good,” Rhynneric Rufus said.

Brees is believed to have damaged his ulnar collateral ligament on the thumb of his passing hand after he collided with a Ram defender Sunday.

Experts like LSU Health Sciences’ Brandon Donnelly, say sometimes that injury can heal itself, but with a premium athlete like Brees, it’s best to operate.

“Presuming he has an ulnar collateral ligament, our goal is to put it back down to bone, and we stabilize the joint on top of that to protect the ligament from pulling back off while we rehab it,” Donnelly said.

Local doctors say Brees’s choice of Dr. Steven Shin at Cedars-Sinai is a good one. They say he is a pioneer of a surgery that will likely reattach Brees’s ligament using two small set screws and a piece of surgical tape for added strength.

Coach Sean Payton said he was not likely to place Brees on the injured reserve list, which could mean his return in November.

“I’m not going to speculate on a recovery time frame, but I know having texting with him and talking with our trainers and our doctors, we’re optimistic,” Payton said.

In the meantime, the Who Dat Nation waits for word of a successful surgery and recovery

“I’m a believer in optimism, so I am praying for him, and I’m praying for my mama because she’s absolutely hysterical right now,” fan Stephanie Deboisblanc-Liaci said.

The Saints organization posted on social media Wednesday afternoon offering “prayers up for Drew Brees.”

Former Saints player Kenny Vaccaro also replied, “prayers up," as did former Saint Benjamin Watson, posting, “Miss y’all...Superman will be back in no time.”

As for the outcome of the surgery, we are still awaiting word out of Los Angeles.

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