LAKERS' HEARN BREAKS HIS HIP.

Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

Broadcasting legend Chick Hearn, still recovering from open-heart surgery, suffered a broken left hip Sunday night, a serious injury that raises new concerns over his long-term health and severely dims hopes that he can return as voice of the Lakers this season.

The 85-year-old broadcasting legend needs a partial hip replacement and is scheduled for surgery this afternoon at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys. Dr. Herbert Huddleston, a noted Los Angeles hip specialist, will perform the operation.

Lakers officials remain optimistic that Hearn can return to duty in early March, as previously planned. But hip-replacement surgery on elderly patients is inherently risky, and medical experts say Hearn will need a minimum of two to three months to recover.

That Hearn had surgery to replace a faulty heart valve just two months ago adds to the risks, and the concerns.

``He's scared, and he's obviously in a lot of pain,'' Lakers spokesman John Black said Monday afternoon at the team's El Segundo complex. ``We're concerned for Chick.''

Team officials were encouraged Monday afternoon when doctors determined that Hearn, who suffered a fracture in the femoral neck, would not need a total hip replacement. Doctors will replace only the ``ball'' portion of the bone that rotates in the hip socket.

The recovery time for a partial replacement is shorter, and Black said Hearn could potentially be walking ``within a couple days, if all goes well.''

Hearn, the only play-by-play man the Lakers have had since moving to Los Angeles in 1961, recently announced he would return to the microphone March 1. That now seems impossible, although those close to the strong-willed and stubborn Hearn know better than to rule out anything.

``The doctor said Chick was on him quite a bit, wanting to get back by then,'' Black said. ``The doctor said it's not going to be impossible for him to come back that day. It depends on how the surgery goes and how Chick's rehabilitation goes and how badly Chick wants to do it.''

Experts on hip replacement believe recovery will take much longer.

``I would be shocked if he was back before six weeks,'' said Dr. Sherry Yudell, associate medical director of rehabilitation services at Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center.

Although Yudell has no intimate knowledge of Hearn's case, she said that at his age, even partial hip replacement will require extensive recovery time, probably two to three months. The first two to three weeks is usually spent in the hospital.

``You have people on all ends of the spectrum,'' Yudell said. ``You have people in their 50s who are real sluggish (in their recovery) and other people in their 80s who bounce right back, but those are exceptions. Generally, the older you are, the longer it takes to come back.''

Hearn's recent heart surgery has already posed one complication. He has been taking blood thinners as part of his recovery, and the operation cannot be performed until the thinners are out of his system. Doctors delayed surgery until today, and could postpone again.

Not taking the blood thinners also poses some risks, experts said.

Once Hearn is out of the hospital, he will be limited in some of his movements and activity, especially in the first few months of rehabilitation.

``Most people do well in the long run,'' Yudell said, ``but there's a lot of obstacles to overcome at first.''

The team had few details about Hearn's accident. Hearn was going out to dinner with his wife, Marge, Sunday evening and apparently fell at a gas station. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital and remained in the intensive care unit Monday.''

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(color) CHICK HEARN