It was reported on Monday that first lady Melania Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to undergo surgery for a benign condition involving her kidneys.
While the surgery was a success, it appears as though Trump will be required to remain in the hospital for several more days as she recovers from the procedure.
According to CNN, the White House declined to offer much in the way of specifics about what the first lady underwent surgery for, other than to say it was a benign kidney condition that required medical treatment.
“This morning, first lady Melania Trump underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition. The procedure was successful, and there were no complications,” stated Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director.
“Mrs. Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and will likely remain there for the duration of the week. The first lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere,” Grisham added.
A separate report from CNN cited the National Institutes of Health for an explanation of the “embolization procedure” used to treat Trump’s kidney condition.
That benign and non-cancerous condition may have been as minor as a fluid-filled cyst growing on one of her kidneys, though it could also have been a small tumor.
The embolization process involves surgically cutting off the blood supply to the abnormal growth in order to starve it of the nutrients needed to continue growing, effectively killing it.
While the procedure is generally regarded as “a fairly low risk” operation, there is always some risk and it is not uncommon for patients to be kept in the hospital for a period of time afterwards to be monitored to ensure there are no complications or need for a follow-up surgery to take care of any part of the growth that remains.
In CNN’s report, Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist at Orlando Health in Florida, noted that the First Lady’s long hospital stay could indicate that the condition could be more serious than portrayed:
“One reason the hospital may be keeping the first lady for a few days is ‘the full lesion may not have been completely embolized and sometimes you need it done again.’ Or there could be ‘bleeding around the kidney or bleeding where you actually go through and get into your blood vessels,’ he said.”
Following word Monday that the operation was a success, President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday, “Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!”
Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 15, 2018
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Hopefully, she is able to get some rest and enjoys a rapid recovery. She certainly has all of our support and prayers!