Sen. Kennedy's Brain Tumor Surgery Called a 'Success'

By Steve Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
Tuesday, June 3, 2008; 3:00 AM

Copyright © 2008 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

MONDAY, June 2 (HealthDay News) -- Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's doctors said Monday that they had completed a "successful" three-and-a-half hour surgery to treat his malignant brain tumor.

"I am pleased to report that Senator Kennedy's surgery was successful and accomplished our goals," Dr. Allan Friedman said in a statement, the Boston Globe reported.

Friedman, considered one of the nation's leading neurosurgeons, said Kennedy had been awake during the operation and "should therefore experience no permanent neurological effects from the surgery," the newspaper said.

Asked by his wife, Vicki, how he felt after the surgery, Kennedy said, "I feel like a million bucks. I think I'll do that again tomorrow," the senator's office said, the Globe reported.

The 76-year-old senator underwent surgery for a malignant glioma, an especially lethal type of brain tumor, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. Friedman is neurosurgeon-in-chief at Duke.

After a brief period of recuperation, Kennedy will undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

The surgery was considered the most aggressive approach that Kennedy could select to treat his tumor. The decision to opt for surgery was considered something of a surprise, the Globe reported, because Kennedy's doctors did not mention surgery as an option after the tumor diagnosis was announced almost two weeks ago. Instead, Kennedy's doctors said the focus of treatment would be radiation and chemotherapy.

Specifics about Kennedy's particular type of tumor haven't been disclosed. Some cancer specialists said the tumor appears likely to be a glioblastoma multiforme -- a serious and tough-to-remove type -- because other kinds of brain tumors are more common in younger people, the Associated Press reported.

Still, cancer experts said Kennedy faces a difficult struggle.

"In the more aggressive gliomas, the outlook is not good," said Dr. Leonard Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society. "This is a serious situation with a difficult outlook."