Maggie Daley Resting After Leg Surgery
CHICAGO (STMW/WBBM) -- Maggie Daley underwent surgery on her right leg on Tuesday to replace a metal rod that had caused her increasing discomfort, the mayor's office said. CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman has the story.
Daley, who was diagnosed with metastatic cancer in 2002, was admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital Saturday morning after experiencing significant pain in the leg where a titanium rod was inserted last March to help strengthen the bone weakened by her cancer, a release from the mayor's office said.
But Daley's primary physician, Dr. Steven Rosen, stressed the pain should not be viewed as a progression of her cancer, but rather related to an orthopedic issue that required replacing a metal implant, the release said.
Dr. Bradley Merk, an orthopedic surgeon at Northwestern, performed the 2 1/2-hour procedure on Tuesday, saying it was successful and the first lady was in good spirits heading into the surgery.
"We needed to re-stabilize the femur by replacing the metal rod," Merk said in the release. "We hope and expect that this will result in a decrease in much of the pain she had been experiencing in recent months."
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Daley is expected to remain hospitalized for three to five days. During that time, she will begin physical therapy that will need to be continued at home, the release said.
This is the longest hospital stint for Chicago's first lady since last October when she was hospitalized in Washington, D.C. for four days after suffering cancer-related pain to her right leg and lower back.
© Sun-Times Media Wire Chicago Sun-Times 2011 & WBBM contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
