RALEIGH, N.C. — Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts emerged without complications from the most precarious period following surgery to treat a brain tumor, walking hospital hallways, spending time with his family and “keeping up with the news of the day” Tuesday, his office said.
Kennedy had a restful night’s sleep after Monday’s operation, a statement said, and the 76-year-old Democrat is expected to stay at the hospital in Durham for about a week before returning home to Massachusetts for further treatment.
All of that is good news. Dr. John Sampson, the associate deputy director of the brain tumor center at Duke University Medical Center, isn’t involved in Kennedy’s care, but the neurosurgeon said that generally, patients who make it through the first day following surgery without any complications have the strongest prospects for recovery.
Kennedy’s office issued a statement updating his condition a day after he underwent a risky, aggressive 3 1/2-hour surgery experts say is designed to remove as much of the tumor as possible before he receives chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
His doctor has not said how much of the tumor was removed but described the surgery as a success.
Kennedy, who has served in the Senate since 1962, was diagnosed with a malignant glioma in the left parietal lobe of his brain after suffering a seizure May 17 at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass.
