Bush Daughter Hospitalized

One of President-elect George W. Bush's twin daughters was rushed to the hospital Christmas Day for an emergency appendectomy after suffering abdominal pains.

Jenna Bush, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, was listed in stable condition Monday at St. David's Hospital, near the governor's mansion. Hospital officials said she would remain there overnight.

Doctors performed surgery to remove the appendix, which is a small, finger-shaped pouch of intestinal tissue. At the time of the attack, she was at the mansion. The family was spending Christmas Day there together.

It was not immediately clear if her appendix burst or if doctors were able to remove it before a rupture occurred. It also was unclear how she was transported to the hospital, specifically if she was rushed there by ambulance.

Her father, who had his appendix removed when he was 10 years old, visited his daughter at the hospital Monday night.

"The doctors are very pleased" with her progress, said Gordon Johndroe, a Bush spokesman.

Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of emergency abdominal surgery in childhood, with 60,000 to 80,000 U.S. cases annually.

At least 60 children die annually and at least 12,000 suffer burst appendixes, often because uncertain symptoms — including loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain — may mimic other ailments and delay diagnosis, according to researchers.

When an appendix bursts, it spreads infection throughout the abdomen, which can cause infertility in girls and requires intravenous antibiotics and weeks of hospitalization.

If doctors can make the diagnosis and remove the inflamed appendix before it bursts, the patient usually needs to stay in the hospital just one night.

By SCOTT LINDLAW