Andrew Speaker, the tuberculosis patient at the center of a worldwide health scare in May, was in fair condition Tuesday after surgery at University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora to remove part of his diseased lung.
“Doctors say it went well, and everything was routine,” hospital spokeswoman Sarah Ellis said in a statement.
The surgery performed Tuesday morning was “minimally invasive,” and the Atlanta lawyer is expected to return to National Jewish Medical and Research Center within a few days, Ellis said.
Speaker is being treated at National Jewish after initially being diagnosed with an extensively drug-resistant form of TB.
Later tests showed the disease was multidrug resistant, which is less severe than originally thought.
Speaker became the center of a firestorm when he went to Europe for his wedding and honeymoon after health officials told him that his tuberculosis might be drug resistant and he was not to fly in commercial airplanes.
Staff writer Nick Martin can be reached at 303-954-1698 or nmartin@denverpost.com.
