TORONTO — The news that Jeff Green will have season-ending surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm has shaken all who know the Celtics [team stats] forward.But for someone like Jan Volk, the C’s general manager when Reggie Lewis died of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the summer of 1993, Green’s plight is a painful reminder of perhaps the most tragic chapter in the history of the franchise.Volk took great encouragement from the fact that doctors expect Green’s upcoming surgery to correct the problem. When Lewis was first examined after collapsing during an April 1993 playoff game at Charlotte, no one in the organization, medical staff included, understood where the problem was about to lead. Green has been told he should be able to return to the NBA after missing this season.“If that’s it, that’s good news,” Volk said. “Technology is always advancing. I’m not really qualified to speak to it, but what’s available now has to be so much different. But at the time we were very concerned with what we saw, and assembled all of the experts we could.”The assembled panel of 12 cardiologists, known as the so-called Dream Team, had short-lived influence. Lewis transferred his care to a cardiologist named Dr. Gilbert Mudge, and years of controversy followed, including allegations of cocaine abuse.“Eighteen years in the medical field is an eternity in terms of expertise,” Volk said. “There was cutting-edge technology back then, too, that meant that what was detected with Reggie might not have been detected two years earlier.”Faith in modern medicine didn’t ward off the worst of Volk’s memories, however.“I heard this news and got concerned,” he said. “At the time none of us had any idea of what it was. I’m pleased that what Jeff has now is something that can be dealt with. You look back at what happened to Reggie now and things seem a little bit clearer. He had a very bad prognosis to start with. That changed for a while, but then we all know what happened.”Lewis’ death, combined with the cocaine-related death of Len Bias the day after the Celtics drafted him in 1986, cast a shadow over the franchise for years.“The impact was felt for years and years on many levels in the organization,” Volk said. “It affected the team, management and on a personal level. In some respects the team hasn’t got over it even now.”Players across the NBA reached out to Green yesterday, sending out messages via Twitter expressing their support for the Celtics forward.