Washington, D.C. – Vice President Dick Cheney went home from a hospital Sunday morning, a day after doctors performed procedures to repair aneurysms in arteries behind both knees.
Cheney, 64, slid his hands along a railing as he walked slowly out of George Washington University Hospital with his wife, Lynne, at his side. Cheney planned to rest Sunday and work from home today.
On Saturday, a team of five doctors performed a minimally invasive procedure to implant flexible stent-grafts in the popliteal arteries behind each knee. Cheney was given local anesthesia during the procedures, which lasted six hours.
Stephen Schmidt, Cheney’s chief spokesman, said that before they started, the vice president’s doctors had expected to perform the procedure only on 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 is that the Food and Drug Administration has not approved any device for use in repairs of popliteal aneurysms, although doctors use them often on an “off-label” basis.
Dr. Eugene Zierler, a vascular surgeon at the University of Washington in Seattle, said patients who undergo surgery similar to Cheney’s usually are advised to take it easy for about a week after such a procedure.
Doctors also said they would advise patients not to fly aboard commercial airplanes for about two to three weeks.
