Lakers' second-round pick must undergo heart surgery
July 22, 2005
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
LOS ANGELES -- Ronny Turiaf, the Los Angeles Lakers second-round draft pick last month, needs open-heart surgery to correct a life-threatening condition, the team's spokesman said Thursday night.
The problem, described as an enlarged aortic route, was discovered during a physical Turiaf took as a condition of joining the team, Lakers spokesman John Black said.
Turiaf, 22, will most likely have the operation in the next four-to-six weeks.
"Obviously, he's disappointed," Black told the Associated Press. "I think it's fair to say he's anxious and somewhat scared to have to undergo open-heart surgery. But now that he's had time for it to sink in, and looking at the big picture, he's hopeful for his future."
The 6-foot-9 power forward averaged 15.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.9 blocked shots as a senior at Gonzaga last season. He was the Lakers' second pick behind 17-year-old center Andrew Bynum of St. Joseph High in Metuchen, N.J.
Ronny Turiaf will have heart surgery within six weeks. (Getty Images)
Black said previous examinations of Turiaf a couple of years ago and earlier this year at the pre-NBA draft camp turned up an abnormality, but in both instances doctors didn't think it was serious and cleared him to play.
Further examinations by the Lakers' own physicians turned up the more serious problem, Black said, and other independent experts confirmed it.
Black said it was too early to determine if the condition would be career-ending.
"We don't want to speculate on that, but obviously we're hopeful that if things go well he will be able to (play again)," Black said.
The good news, Black added, is that catching the condition now likely saved Turiaf's life.
"Had he not had this corrected, my understanding from our doctors is very likely this would have been a fatal condition," Black said.
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service
Copyright 2004-2005, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved
http://www.sportsline.com/nba/story/8665723
