For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
September 24, 2005
Statement on Vice President Cheney's Medical Procedure
This morning, at George Washington Hospital, the Vice President
underwent successful, elective, minimally invasive, endovascular repair
of arterial aneurysms behind his right and left knees. Small aneurysms
were identified behind both knees during the Vice President's annual
physical examination in July.
The procedure was performed by a multidisciplinary team led by Dr.
Anthony Venbrux, Director of Interventional Radiology, Dr. Jonathan
Reiner, Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, and Dr.
Joseph Giordano, Chairman of Surgery. Joining the team were Dr. Barry
Katzen, Director of the Baptist Cardiac and Vascular Institute at Baptist
Hospital in Miami and Dr. Peter Gloviczki, Chair of Vascular Surgery at
Mayo Clinic.
Using local anesthesia, two overlapping Viabahn stent grafts were
implanted in the right popliteal artery. The implanted device consists
of a flexible, self-expanding stent covering a thin walled graft
composed of polytetrafluoroethylene. Placement of the device in the
right knee artery went exceedingly smoothly, and an intraoperative
decision was made to repair the aneurysm behind the left knee using a
similar technique. The procedure lasted six hours and there were no
complications.
Presently, the Vice President is awake, alert, and comfortable. Later
this afternoon, the Vice President will be briefed on the impact of
Hurricane Rita in Louisiana and Texas, as well as the ongoing federal,
state and local response. He will remain in the hospital for up to 48
hours to monitor his recovery and is expected to resume his regular
schedule when he is released to home.
# # #
|