Hey everybody,

It looks like another NBA basketball player will need to go undergo heart valve surgery.

(As you may have read in an earlier blog, Ronny Turiaf (Los Angeles Lakes) had aortic root replacement ^[1] a few years ago.)

Unfortunately, Etan Thomas will need heart valve repair surgery as reported from the Associated Press a few days ago. Here is the story:

Washington Wizards center Etan Thomas will undergo open-heart surgery today to repair a leak of the aortic valve ^[2], a procedure that requires months of recovery time but might not mean the end of his career.

Etan Thomas, 29, drafted out of Syracuse in 2000, has been with the Wizards since 2001 and is the team’s longest tenured player. Etan Thomas missed the start of camp Oct. 2 after a routine physical revealed the heart abnormality of the aortic valve ^[3].

The rehabilitation period after such surgery for a pro athlete is uncertain. Forward Ronny Turiaf joined the Los Angeles Lakers fewer than six months after having open-heart surgery for an enlarged aortic root in 2005.

All of my best wishes go out to Etan Thomas and his family. May Etan have a quick heart valve surgery recovery ^[4] that finds him back in a Washington Wizards jersey very soon.

Keep on tickin!