Second accident for governor in ‘06
By Daily Press Staff
LOS ANGELES — A Santa Monica orthopedic surgeon who performed hip surgery on former President Ronald Reagan will be in charge of helping another politico get well.
Dr. Kevin Ehrhart operated on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday after the former action star broke his leg in a skiing accident over the weekend. The surgery, which lasted about an hour and a half, reportedly went well and the governor is recovering.
Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante assumed temporary control over the state during the operation, according to the governor’s office.
Schwarzenegger was cleared to resume his duties as governor at approximately 10:45 a.m. and he is expected to have a full and speedy recovery.
“At 9:45 this morning our surgical team, consisting of myself, two assistant surgeons, an anesthesiologist and two nurses, completed a successful open reduction internal fixation on the upper part of Governor Schwarzenegger’s thigh bone,” Ehrhart said. “The surgery involved using cables and screws to wire the two main fragments of the Governor's broken femur bone back together. It lasted approximately an hour an a half, was without complication, and the post-operation X-rays look great. ”Following the surgery, the Governor was awake, alert and talking in the recovery room,” Ehrhart added. “He is now fully coherent and I have cleared him to resume his duties as governor. The governor will remain in the hospital for three days, as is standard for this type of operation. Recovery will take approximately eight weeks and I expect the governor to fully recover. The governor is not in a cast and will use crutches to walk while his leg heals.”
Schwarzenegger, 59, broke his femur, or thighbone, while skiing in Sun Valley, Idaho during a Christmas vacation with his wife, Maria Shriver, and their four children.
Schwarzenegger has a home at a resort in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho where one of the expert runs — Arnold’s Run — is named for him.
No one else was involved in the accident, which occurred while the governor was skiing with an old friend and former ski instructor, Adi Erber.
Schwarzenegger checked into a hospital in Los Angeles on Monday night. The name of the hospital was not disclosed for security reasons, the governor’s office said.
“As is standard for this type of surgery, the governor will be held for observation for three days,” Ehrhart said. “The governor will use crutches … and recovery will take approximately eight weeks.”
As a result, Schwarzenegger will be on crutches during his inauguration in Sacramento, which is set for Jan. 5.
In January, Schwarzenegger was riding his Harley-Davidson with 12-year-old son Patrick in the sidecar when he struck a car on a canyon road near his home in Brentwood, splitting his upper lip, which needed 15 stitches to close.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 27, 2006. Read the original PDF.