Matt Harvey’s surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome will end his season, but not necessarily his career.
“People need to understand that this is not a death sentence and he can come back from it with no problem,” said former Mets prospect Brant Rustich, who underwent the procedure in 2010. “People might think with thoracic outlet syndrome, you’re done, but it’s not like having a labrum surgery. It’s not that crazy of a procedure for a pitcher. I would feel completely confident with any pitcher having it done.
“The worst thing would be pitching through it.”
While Harvey has felt symptoms — including numbness in his fingers and pain in his throwing arm — all season, Rustich pitched with the undiagnosed syndrome for a decade.
A second-round draft pick of the Mets in 2007, Rustich had been dealing with the issue since high school. By the time he had his surgery, too much damage already had been done to his nerves, forcing him to retire in 2012.
However, since it appears Harvey has been dealing with the issue for just this year, Rustich believes it will be much easier for the 27-year-old right-hander to return and remain an effective starter.
“To see Harvey throwing seven innings and 98 miles per hour, he’s so far ahead of where I was,” Rustich said Friday. “It was so long since I was capable of doing that. The first two innings I could look like Roger Clemens, but by the third inning I would start to unravel and lose the feel for the ball because those nerves would start to flare up. I couldn’t feel the ball and my arm felt like it was lost in space.
“If he’s just now dealing with this, he could probably continue to pitch, but couldn’t go deep in the games and his arm would only be more dead later in the year. It wouldn’t be beneficial for him or the team.”
Rustich said the surgery itself was extremely painful. A rib was removed. A neck muscle was relocated. His balance was off.
He experienced swelling in his chest and had difficulty breathing when he began working out. For months, he slept sitting upright, needing Vicodin to fall asleep because of the pain.
“It’s a change to the body, but as far as your arm goes, nothing changes with the arm slot or mechanics,” Rustich said. “When I retired it was because I had already done too much damage and I knew the nerves were not gonna repair themselves enough to the point where I could pitch at that level.”
If Rustich had gotten the surgery when the symptoms first surfaced, perhaps he still would be playing. Perhaps he still would be with the Mets.
“After surgery, I remember being able to throw the ball and I felt like a kid again when I couldn’t throw like that for years,” Rustich said. “The feel improved for me post-surgery and when I came back and started throwing, I absolutely felt relief in my arm, but the problem with me was I was throwing with it for 10 years without understanding that was the issue.
“It’s not too often you get a group of guys together like the Mets have right now that’s capable of winning a world championship, but he has to think about the long term.”