The initial prognosis on Red Wings defenseman Brad Stuart was that he would not need surgery after breaking his jaw last week, but it looks like the team jumped the gun a bit. The Red Wings announced that Stuart had jaw surgery Thursday in California.
The first examination of the jaw showed two non-displaced fractures that did not require surgery. Subsequent examinations revealed that two plates would need to be inserted to help stabilize the fractures.
Stuart will still miss 6-8 weeks and the surgery will not affect his recovery time.