Kennedy's cancer surgery 'successful'

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-04 08:01

US Senator Edward Kennedy, a Democratic icon, had "a restful night's sleep" after brain surgery and is recovering with no complications, his aides said yesterday.

"He is experiencing no complications, and has been walking the hallways, spending time with family and actively keeping up with the news of the day."

Kennedy is expected to leave Duke University Medical Center in Durham next week.

Kennedy had successful surgery on Monday to remove a malignant brain tumor and should suffer "no permanent neurological effects," his surgeon said.

"I am pleased to report that Senator Kennedy's surgery was successful and accomplished our goals," Dr Allan Friedman said in a statement after a 3 1/2-hour operation at Duke University's Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.

After the surgery, Kennedy told his wife, Vicki, "I feel like a million bucks," an aide to the senator said.

Friedman, Duke's chief of neurosurgery, did not specify how much of the cancerous tumor he was able to remove. He called the operation "the first step" in a treatment plan for the 76-year-old senator from Massachusetts, head of America's most fabled political family.

"After a brief recuperation, he will begin targeted radiation at Massachusetts General Hospital and chemotherapy treatment," Friedman said.

Dr Mark Gilbert of the University of Texas' cancer center, speaking at a news conference at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, said: "If all you do is surgery, even if you do a beautiful job, the tumor will be back in one or two months" without other treatments.

Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor called a glioma, a type of tumor that usually kills within three years, after suffering a seizure on May 17.

Massachusetts General said Kennedy's tumor was in the left parietal lobe of the brain. Several doctors agreed that surgery in this region could affect a patient's ability to speak and understand language, and perhaps could paralyze the patient's right side as well.

But Friedman said, "Senator Kennedy was awake during the resection (tumor removal) and should therefore experience no permanent neurological effects from the surgery."

There was no immediate word on when Kennedy would be able to return to work in the Senate where he has served since 1962 when he took the seat vacated by his older brother, President John F. Kennedy.