Cheney Has Aneurysm Surgeries on Knees

[CatWoman]

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer 12 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney had successful surgery on Saturday to repair aneurysms on the back of both knees. He was alert and comfortable after the six-hour operation, his spokesman said.

Cheney, who has a history of heart problems, was under local anesthesia during the surgery at George Washington University Hospital.

"He will remain in the hospital for up to 48 hours to monitor his recovery. He is expected to resume a regular schedule when he is released to home," said Steve Schmidt, counselor to the vice president.

After the operation, Cheney was "awake, alert, comfortable," Schmidt said. The vice president was expected to be briefed on the impact of Hurricane Rita later Saturday.

An aneurysm is a ballooning weak spot in an artery that, as blood pulses through, eventually can burst if left untreated. The condition was discovered during Cheney's annual physical in July.

Cheney had been scheduled to have only the right knee operated on Saturday but his doctors decided to do both at once, Schmidt said. There were no complications.

Cheney had flexible stent grafts put in his knee arteries.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050924/ap_on_go_pr_wh/cheney_surgery

[yorgatron]

1. only the good die young

[ClintonTyree]

2. If that's the ultimate critera for dying......

the S.O.B. will never die. Cheney has found the secret of eternal life, be an evil, heartless, money grubbing bastard.

[Maraya1969]

3. Wonder what he's been doing on his knees for so many years?

[Conservativesux]

8. Praying that he doesnt get sent to Hell for his misgivings

[Tiggeroshii]

4. Pretty quick they're gonna give him a black life support suit

that covers his whole body in an effort to keep him fully functional. Assisted breathing would be equipped in this suit.

[democrat in Tallahassee]

5. with a big black hemet?

[djeseru]

6. And a cape as well. n/t

[Tiggeroshii]

9. You guys nailed it.

I don't think we'll be able to call him Dick Cheney anymore. What name do you suppose the Sith'll give him?

[WildClarySage]

22. Darth Cheney.

[Ladyhawk]

38. Darth Halliburton. n/t

[Tiggeroshii]

41. I like this one better.

Or also Darth Petroleum. Hah. What pile of Sith...

[yellowdogintexas]

17. the beginnings of it were surely under that hot looking outfit he

was wearing out in the field in Crawford.

I could not believe it. Hot as hell, and Cheney looks like Nanook of the north.

[bitchkitty]

7. I hope it hurts. n/t

[Gregorian]

10. Now he can walk. But he still can't feel.

Knees without a heart does not make a human being.

[MADem]

11. OK, who has medical knowledge???

I've known people with heart disease, and this is the first I have heard of this sort of thing. Is it common??? Or is he having knee attacks because he has no heart????

[yellowdogintexas]

16. aneurysms can occur on any arterial blood vessel.

basically, the wall of the vessel weakens and it balloons out.

While a lower leg aneurysm isn't as life threatening as those which occur on the major arteries, it still would not be pleasant if one of them started to leak, especially if it were a sudden rupture. Sometimes they get like a little pinhole leak which will heal on its own.

The result would be blood collecting in the area behind his knees, like a hematoma. It might clot and heal on its own, if so there is the risk of blood clots traveling through the rest of the body and landing in the lung. Or he could just lose a lot of blood, which might pool around the ankles, causing other problems.

Getting it done now is a fairly easy procedure, recovery time will be brief.

I think they are called popliteal aneurysms because that is the name of the artery is located right behind the knee.

Now since it is Darth Cheney we are talking about, any of the potential repercussions are at a minimum amusing. If it were my husband, it would be different.

Of course, we could just ring up Frist the heart surgeon and ask him. I bet he knows.

[MADem]

18. Ha!! Frist could check the latest video of DarthDick, and provide his

diagnosis by telephone!!!!!

[rocktivity]

43. On Air America this morning, Rachel Maddow said

that using a local anesthetic in this case is highly irregular, since the operation took five doctors and six hours, and especially since they did something "experimental" and "unapproved." She said the stents--"metal-reinforced fabric sleeves"--are not normally used near a "highly mobile joint" such as the knee. Rachel then wondered if doctors were afraid to put Cheney under a general anesthetic because his heart couldn't take the stress! If so, this story is B.S.--there was nothing run-of-the-mill about this operation.

:headbang:
rocknation

[LibertyLover]

42. Cheney

My husband who used to be an intra-operative tech (he monitored nerve function and conductivity during neurological and orthopedic surgical procedures) at Johns Hopkins figures Cheney has vascular disease and could pop an aneurysm anywhere.

[Angry Girl]

12. Damn! Where's Tanya Harding when you need her? n/t

[Mika]

13. What? No briefings on the latest personal land deal?

:wtf:

[icymist]

14. Leno calls the surgery a 'pre-autopsy' n/t

[uncle ray]

15. phew! the president's ok!

so i guess veep Bush* can come out of hiding now.

[Mend]

19. They can't find and fix all his arteries...

there isn't a healthy artery in his entire body. That is the nature of arterioschlerosis....it is everywhere. They have fixed the ones they can get to, but sooner or later, one of his fat encrusted vessels, maybe in his "brain", is going to blow.

[llmart]

23. Can I be there to watch when it does?

It would be so much fun. I want to see the bastard suffer just like he's made all those soldiers in Iraq suffer because of his greed.

[yellowdogintexas]

33. arteriosclerosis and aneurysms often co exist but one does

not necessarily cause the other.

You can have a very healthy heart, low cholesterol, normal blood pressure etc. and still have a weak arterial wall somewhere. That arterial wall can only stretch so much.


Brain stem aneurysms are basically asymptomatic until they rupture and they tend to be hereditary.

The arteriosclerosis is the fat/cholesterol/plaque narrowing of the arteries. It shuts down blood supply to the heart itself and causes the heart muscle to die off. The peripheral arteries (arms, legs) are not as life threatening if they plug, and more easily fixed if they do.

[formercia]

20. Varicose Veins

but that doen't sound so threatening.

[Mend]

24. No, happily, it is his arteries that are bad.

Varicose veins are nothing compared to arterial aneurysms.

[Cha]

21. I hear cheney(go fuck yourself) is

only 64! He looks like he's in his late sickly seventies. Eats too much Bullshit!

[UTUSN]

25. So Lynne Will Have to Do Tops for a Few Weeks n/t

[Benhurst]

26. Let's face it, if Cheney were a goldfish, he would have been

flushed years ago. :hurts:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. What's he going to do about the aneurism in his ass?

Leave it?

[Nostradammit]

28. Love seeing that in print: "Cheney, who has a history of heart problems,"

Heart problems indeed.

What a pathetic, miserable little man.

[ngGale]

29. Too bad he didn't have to deal with....

having his HMO cancelled.:sarcasm:

[texpatriot2004]

30. Did he die yet? n/t

[Massachusetts]

31. "Cheney Has Aneurysm Surgeries on Knees"

Is he dead yet?

[TankLV]

32. Fuck Him.

He's been too "fortunate" by a long shot.

I wish him a LOT worse!

He should drop dead - the world would be a LOT better off.

I hope his clogs decide to do a lot of traveling.

[aion]

34. I am reminded of a story

An old woman goes into the doctor complaining about arthritis in her right leg. The doctor examines her, and tells her "There is not much I can do, as this is caused by old age."

The woman exclaims: "Excuse me? Isn't my left leg just as old as my right?"

Silly Quacks...

[Chicago Democrat]

35. From duck hunting? is that bad on the knees?

strange place for it.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

36. No it's just part of the same atherosclerosis disease that involves his

coronary arteries and caused the blockages leading to his 4 heart attacks (that we know of). The knees (popliteal area) are a common place for aneurysms to occur because of the bend in the knee and the "forking" of the arteries that occurs there.

Any place where the blood flow can become turbulent due to "birfurcations" (branching of the arteries) etc. is a place where a weakness can be created in the wall of the vessel, leading to a ballooning or "aneurysm". (figure below depicts aneurysm sites at branch points.)

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

37. What's interesting is how none of Cheney's doctors is actually named.

One would almost think that shrubco wants to keep those who know Cheney's actual medical history as anonymous as possible, to prevent inadvertent dissemination of knowledge about how sick he actually is.

Usually in stories about surgeries on the Prez etc., the doctors involved are prominently named and often give press conferences.

[northzax]

40. his personal physician

who I won't name since no one else is, is a cardiologist at George Washington University Hospital.

[osaMABUSh]

39. Live Cheney Live! We don't want that fucker dying now

and Shrub install somebody as VP who would have a leg up on us in '08!

Come to think of it. Being Bush's VP now would be a detriment in '08. How do you distance yourself from the Pres. if your the Vice-Pres?

Strike that last question. I just remembered the campaign of 2000.

[0007]

44. Please don't die on us cheney. I want you alive and healthy

for the war criminal trials. I want to see your sad ass in prison.