On Etan Thomas’ condition and surgery:
“He had a condition called bicuspid aortic valve, and the valve developed leakage. The regurgitation of the valve was severe. In our opinion, he needed the valve repaired or replaced so he would subsequently not develop heart failure. The operation that he had yesterday was an aortic valve replacement and a replacement of the ascending aorta. Everything went smoothly with the operation. He’s in the intensive care unit this morning, awake and alert. We hope he can move out to a private room sometime this afternoon.”

On Thomas’ recovery time:
“That’s an important issue for him. For most patients, recovery from heart surgery takes approximately 4-6 weeks. For someone who has a lot of physical activity in their life, and especially for an athlete like Etan, it certainly is going to take at least two months for him to recover fully in regards to the healing of the sternum. We think that his heart and the function of his heart and lungs should return to normal. It is possible he could get back to playing professional level basketball.”

On the length of hospitalization:
“The usual stay in the hospital is 5-7 days. I talked to his wife this morning and explained to his wife that he might be able to get out of the hospital next week on Wednesday or Thursday. We like to have the patients stay in town a day or two to make certain they can take care of themselves out of the hospital. I hope that he is able to go home by Friday or Saturday.”

On Thomas’ rehabilitation:
“The recovery is really from the sternal incision. The parts of the surgery we do when he’s asleep are probably not as important as the incision. He is really recovering from the incision. His heart functions quite good.”

On how long he’s had the condition:
“It’s a condition that he has since birth, but it wouldn’t have been apparent until the valve starts leaking. You can have a bicuspid aortic valve that would be completely silent and functioning normally, but until it starts leaking you can’t detect it on an examination. His doctors detected it this year and the leakage was severe. It is impossible to know how long it has been leaking.”

Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld

On Etan Thomas:
“We’re very pleased with the news the doctors gave us. Our number one concern has always been Etan’s health. The long term prognosis seems to be very good, so we feel very good for Etan and his family about that.”

On him playing again this season:
“Our concern is about his health. This isn’t about basketball right now. This is about him getting healthy. The doctor feels that he can do that. I don’t think you put a time frame on it. It’s going to take time, but obviously we’ll monitor the situation. But again, the number one concern is to make sure that he is fine.”

More on Thomas:
“We’re going to be very cautious and be very careful. Etan is in great hands with Dr. Schaff and the medical staff at the world-renowned Mayo Clinic. He is going to get all the care he needs and nothing is going to happen until he is absolutely 100%.”

On mandatory player medical testing:
“We’ve had extensive testing for years. Our players always get their physicals every year. I think the cardiovascular part of it has been extended over the past two or three years.”

Wizards Head Coach Eddie Jordan

On Etan’s surgery:
“We understand that his surgery was very successful and Etan is recovering very well right now. The doctors that performed surgery were right with what they had to do, and Etan’s recovering well and we’re very happy about it.”

Wizards guard Antonio Daniels

On Etan Thomas:
“I know Etan’s family is thankful and I know the team is thankful that they found it. They had the opportunity to go in and repair his heart and God willing he can live a happy life and spend time with his children and his wife and watch his kids grow up. If basketball is involved that’s a bonus. If not, the most important thing is that he lives and that he is ok.”

On Thomas' absence:
“It will hurt a lot in a number of ways: in the locker room, on the floor, that presence that he brings. Any time we take the floor we’ll always take his heart. Hopefully we can play with that same kind of intensity, that same fire that he brought to our team.”

Wizards forward Caron Butler

On Etan Thomas:
“We just want him to get back up on his feet as soon as possible and we can’t wait for him to walk through the locker room to see his face and have his presence around.

On the possibility of Thomas’ return:
“I don’t want to put any pressure from the outside on him, but I know he will be working as hard as he can to get back on the court. That’s just in his nature. He’s going to try to overcome what ever obstacles are in front of him and try to get back with his brothers.”

Wizards forward Antawn Jamison

On the mood of the team upon hearing good news about Etan Thomas:
“I think it’s great news. I think the most important thing was for him to come out of this surgery the way it’s supposed be. He’s sitting around…I couldn’t imagine having a serious surgery like that and the next day be able sit around. Hopefully he’ll be walking. Next week he’ll be on a plane back here. Some people forgot how severe and serious the surgery was. For a lot of people it takes months to do the things that Etan is doing. That’s all you ask for. He’s been in our prayers ever since we found out the news and so far everything is going great. Hopefully we can continue that rehab process and before you know it he’ll be doing the things he was doing before the surgery.”

On Thomas’ absence:
“Etan is a very cool, mellow guy, but on the court he was a totally different guy and that’s the thing we’re going to miss. We’re going to miss the friendship we had with him in the locker room and that competitiveness, that warrior-like mentality he played with on the basketball court. It made a difference. He did a great job pushing the other bigs to play hard and fight for playing minutes. When he was on the court you knew he was going to give you 100 percent night in and night out. That is something that we’re definitely going to miss.”