What's so "secret" about Cheney's knees?

[CatWoman]

Maybe they're 'secret' aneurysms

Posted 11:18 am | Printer Friendly
I hadn't given a lot of thought to Dick Cheney's surgery over the weekend, because it didn't seem like a terribly big deal. A man in his mid-60s having two aneurysms repaired behind his knees doesn't seem the kind of thing that should raise suspicions. (I will say, however, that a friend of mine had a funny one about Cheney signing over power of the government over to Bush while he was under the knife, but that's another story.)

Nevertheless, I can't help but find it at least a little odd that the Bush gang is treating the procedure with such secrecy.

Two doctors on Mr. Cheney's medical team said they would be willing to discuss his case with this physician-reporter if given permission to do so. But the White House declined to grant such permission.

Is it me, or is this a little odd? I've seen doctors host press conferences on ESPN for athletes who've had surgery. And yet, the vice president, who's had four heart attacks, goes in for a double aneurysm repair, and reporters aren't even allowed to speak with the attending physicians? Under White House orders?

Is it possible the Bush gang feels the need for secrecy because this was a little less routine than the Bush gang has let on?

, said the decision to do both repairs on the same day was "surprising and a little bit irresponsible, I must say." That is partly because the extra procedure could increase the risk of complications now or in the future, he said.

"You really never want to tackle both sides at once," Dr. Bernik said, "because even though things may go smoothly on one side, you can still run into a problem while you are doing the other side, or shortly thereafter, and then you really could have a big problem on your hands."

It's just odd. Considering Cheney's medical history, the public has a right to know if the VP has a serious health problem. By shielding doctors — who are willing to speak to reporters — from questions, the White House is only fueling suspicions. Why?

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/5353.html

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. I believe that he is probably in

pretty bad health and they dont' want to publicize it.

[goclark]

6. Rethugs would have DEMANDED to know if Clinton was the one nt

[SoCalDem]

19. They would have wanted him stripped down and photographed

and then would have had to hold hearings to 'discuss" the medical findings...taking testimony from any woman who had ever seen his legs:)

[Richard D]

2. Perhaps . . .

. . . on exam they were ready to rupture?

[Quakerfriend]

3. Well, he has had serious medical problems for years and

would always be considered a HIGH risk for surgery. It could be that they are covering some post op complications.

The way he's been a little 'scarce' does give me the creeps, in general.

His karma can't come back around fast enough for me!

[Akoto]

11. True enough.

When I think about it, as much as his presence is felt in the goings-on, you hardly ever see Cheney in person. The footage of him leaving the hospital was the first time I'd noticed him in quite a while.

I suspect his health is worse than they're letting on.

[saigon68]

4. Maybe he got circumcised

He's a big enough PRICK

[Quakerfriend]

7. or castrated? eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww! Sorry. Me bad.

[SoCalDem]

20. Would have taken a really BIG knife

[CatWoman]

25. um, er, ah, ahem

gouge my eyes out. now.

[buff2]

self deleted

[buff2]

22. Oh,for Gawd's sake!

:rofl:

[mshasta]

5. they don't want to said that

the reptilian is discomposing.....:scared: needs fresh flesh!

[charlie]

8. To keep terrorists from blowing off his kneecaps

Every fresh bit of data is pure gold to the terrorists, I think we've all learned that by now. I understand his legs have been removed from Google Maps for the same reason, national security.

[Thtwudbeme]

9. I personally think that he had a massive heart attack during the first

campaign (remember the stent?) and then a stroke on 9/11...(the "undisclosed location" shit...then the droopy mouth...weakness on one side when standing.)

All Cheney's crap reminds me of the old Soviet Union crap where they claimed their leaders were Great! right up to the day of the funeral.

[Nickster]

10. I think it's his heart. I think it was in "Worse than Watergate"

where they lay out the heart surgery timelines and said that his heart surgery repairs would only make it until around 2004 before he needed more major work done. I'll have to look at the book again, because I swear it was John Dean laying out that scenario.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. The hydraulic fluid was badly contaminated; the titanium alloy eroded.

the gears were stripped and the pulley structure was catching. You really want to know details like that about him?

[swimmernsecretsea]

18. But the casing on the plutonium power pack is secure

And has the equivalent energy to maintain the housing support for the mechanism until approximately three human generations have passed. Built to last...

[Booster]

13. You can tell the MSM is repeating what the WH has told them to

report because every single news on CNN and MSNBC have said "Mr. Cheney was released today and is working from home" - give me a damn break.

[dretceterini]

14. It was really a proctology exam

but they found it impossible to remove all the BS

[buff2]

27. They couldn't remove his head outta his ass

:evilgrin:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

28. ah, the full body scan.

I can only imagine what they found.

[NAO]

15. WH fuels suspicion b/c on "liberals" become suspicious. The Faithful

do not question. And the WH does not care what liberals think; in fact I think they derive amusement and pleasure from evoking outrage from liberals.

Besides, there are intelligence reports that Al Quadea Operating Room Operatives are planning a terrorist attack on Cheney's knees. The intercepted messages went something like "Allah willing, we will bring the Vice-President to his knees".

[KoKo]

16. NYT's says his stent grafts Not Approved by FDA.....plus he didn't have

general anesthesia only local. (one does wonder why he went with a non-FDA approved procedure. Was it because he wanted to avoid general anesthesia for some reason. :shrug:)

---------------

Mr. Schmidt said that, before they started, the vice president's doctors had expected to perform the procedure only on the artery in Mr. Cheney's right knee. But during the procedure, he said, the doctors decided to repair both knees.

Some vascular surgeons who perform the stent-graft technique raised questions about its use in the vice president's surgery.

One concern was that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved any device in repairs of popliteal aneurysms, although doctors often implant stents for unapproved uses. Many doctors consider such uses experimental.

Another concern was that stents implanted in a knee would be subjected to far more stress from bending and extension than when placed in other arteries. Few studies have been conducted to determine the devices' durability in knees.

-snip-

Although the stent-graft procedure avoids the use of general anesthesia, "there still is stress associated with the procedure under local anesthesia, and there are potential complications," said Dr. K. Craig Kent, chief of vascular surgery at Weill Cornell and Columbia University medical schools.

"For patients with the usual risks, the traditional surgical operation is the better way to go," Dr. Kent said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/26/politics/26cheney.html

[melody]

17. imo, it's a cover

I think he's just finally having the bolts taken out of his neck.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

21. Send bacon, he needs more bacon. nt.

[charlie]

26. Lol

:D

[bmbmd]

23. Peripheral vascular disease is a significant threat

to life. The one year mortality rates for some lower extremity vascular procedures exceeds that of aortocoronary bypass. People are down-playing the significance of this procedure because it really means he is sick all over. Not just sick, but "sick as hell."

[ChairmanAgnostic]

29. he would never survive a run for president.

the video from NOLA was shocking. He could not raise his head, even with make-up, the puffy swollen eyes, the general aura of "last throes."


This "experimental" surgery makes sense. No one would risk a general anesthetic on a dying man, with serious heart problems.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

33. Agreed

Politics "aside" (yeah, right) he is not electable because of his cardiac history, IMO.

[Freddie Stubbs]

24. Doctors always have to get written permission when giving out medical info

on a patient.

http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/regtext.html

[Kingofalldems]

38. You do like to cover for these people, don't you?

We all know the MDs need permission, but he is the VP and we have the right to know if he is incapacitated by illness.

[Freddie Stubbs]

40. I work in the health care field, so I know a little about medical privacy

regulations. I also like to help fellow DUers from falling into the trap of believing every conspiracy theory which is floated.

[itzamirakul]

30. Behind Cheney's knees are the spots where

they hide all the CIA secrets.

He is a big, fat, fart full of hot air, Haliburton lies and SS secrets.

[imaginary girl]

31. I'm not a doctor, but it seemed odd to me that he was walking ...

... right after the procedure. On his way out of the hospital, no less, as if they had something to prove. You go in for minor procedures that have nothing to do with your legs and come out in wheel chairs these days ...

[goclark]

32. Any fool with the heart problems that he has would

be more than happy to wave from the wheel chair.

Wheel Chairs mean, be careful not that you are ill these days.

He is a fool.

He looked white as a sheet waving from that car.

[elehhhhna]

34. Haggard too, and i don't mean Merle.

[knitter4democracy]

35. I don't think they're in the knees.

My hubby says we need to keep track of how long he's in the hospital--if it's longer than 48 hrs, they weren't in the knees. Who knows? The Bushbots throw out bones here and there that seem true but really aren't. I doubt the story, personally.

[sweetheart]

36. He has bionic knees

They cost the taxpayer 6 billion dollars and Cheney is the 6 billion
dollar pig. The pig makes pork greedily grubbing in the taxpayer's
treasury, destroying the fields, grubbing under every living thing for
roots and waste. And he lives in a world where everything he touches
or is, is covered with feces and filth. So the pig with bionic knees
can eat even more filth and makes even more pork.

Actually, the entire pig is bionic, and only the knees are of the original
bone cells of dick cheney. The tax breaks for remodelling a body are
much better than for a new build.

And on orwell's animal farm, has history only repeated itself.

[bobbieinok]

37. compare LBJ's operation and Ike's 1955 heart attack

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4891043

LBJ in 'original message' and Ike in post #1

[brentspeak]

39. All that running away from the recruiter's office during the 60's