访谈录 Interview 2007-01-04&06 布什的人工屁股

This morning in Health Watch, artificial hips 2, former President George Bush is resting at the NYU clinic after a successful surgery to have his right hip 1 replaced. He had his other hip replaced there 7 years ago. Dr. Joseph Zuckerman is chairman of the Department of Orthopedics surgery at New York University Hospital for joint 3 diseases. Good morning.

Good morning, Julie.

Alright. Former president George Bush, he's 82 years old. Early word is that he is recovering well. Dose age matter when you're having this type of surgery done?

Age is a factor, but it's not the most important factor. You have to look at age in different ways, his chronological 4 age. Your age, based upon the year you were born . My age I'm gonna be 55, but there is also physiological 5 age. Sometime you can have somebody in their eighties who is physically 6 fit, doesn't have any medical problems, no high blood pressure or heart disease, and they really physiologically 7 much younger. On the other hand, you can have a 55-year-old who has heart disease, kidney problems, lung problems, has been a smoker 8 that at really physiologically is much older.

So in that case, the eighty-year-old who's healthy would be a better candidate who's gonna recover faster?

Yes. I think that's generally true.

Alright. Show us what you brought in today cause this is an artificial hip. How does that get put into a patience's body? What is it made of?

The hip is a ball and socket 9 joint and the goal of a hip replacement 10 surgery is to replace the worn-out ball and socket with artificial components 11. And hip replacement has been around for 40 years. And they've developed into, probably, the state of the art technology, now. And basically, hip replacements 12 are comfortable. Although this example of hip replacement was not the one necessarily that President Bush received. It's similar in type and format 13. So, hip replacements consist of replacing the socket with a metal shell like this.

Yeah.

Right, so, it's a shell that's hemispherical, the bone in the person is prepared, you know with different instruments. And then, this shell, this metal shell is inserted directly into the bone. And usually we'll hold the shell in place, sometime you can increase the security of it with some screws.

and show us the long piece that you are holding.

Well, this piece here goes down the thigh 14 bone right, the thigh bone is basically, you know, prepared by, reaming out or cutting out the central portion. And this is now placed into the bone. Sometimes it's segmented to place .

Alright. We've only got 30 seconds left. Having said all this about 200,000 Americans get this done every year. It takes about an hour and a half to 2 hours. What's the recovery process like?

Good. The recovery process is a fairly quick one. Patients are up sometimes the same day. Usually the day after surgery, they start their rehabilitation 15 program. After 3, 4 or 5 days in the hospital, they'll be discharged. They continue their rehabilitation program at home. And usually, (for how many months) well. Usually I'd say by the time that 6 weeks after the surgery they (are) getting around pretty well. Right, and it within 2 or 3 months they're finished.

Dr. Joseph Zuckerman. Thank you so much for explain that to us.

You're welcome, Julie.
And for more on hip replacement and the latest procedures, go to our partner in health coverage 16 webmd.com and search hip replacement.