Kennedy walking hospital halls as recovery begins
raleigh, n.c. -- Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy emerged from the most precarious period following surgery to treat a brain tumor without any complications, spending Tuesday walking hospital hallways, visiting with his family and "keeping up with the news of the day," 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.
"Most of the major complications -- the disastrous complications -- typically occur within the first six hours or at least the first 24 hours after surgery," Sampson said.
Kennedy's office issued a statement updating his condition a day after he underwent a risky, aggressive 31/2-hour surgery that experts say was 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.
"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's office said in a statement. "He looks forward to returning home to Cape Cod soon, and is thankful for all the prayers and well wishes."
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 on May 17 at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass.
Sampson and other doctors familiar with such surgery said other, less serious complications may present themselves later. Brain swelling can begin days after the surgery, causing loss of speech and movement, but that's usually only a temporary problem that doctors don't worry too much about, Sampson said.
"The main thing [patients are] going to be feeling is like they played a few quarters of football, pretty well beat up," said Dr. Victor Perry, a neurosurgeon and associate professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. "Physical tiredness. He went through a very grueling surgery, very tough on the body."
