Ted Kennedy Goes Under the Knife

Update:Ted's got good doctors. Word is the surgery was successful.

The mass media is abuzz with the news that Senator Ted Kennedy is undergoing surgery on the tumor discovered in his brain. He's at Duke University Medical Center right now.

The surgery, which is being led by Dr. Allan Friedman, will take six hours, and he will go through chemotherapy and radiation afterward. Given Kennedy's prominent position, a team of experts flocked to discuss his situation and settled on the surgery-chemo/radiation plan.

The New York Times interviewed a neurosurgery professor at Tufts, who noted that surgery on gliomas, which is the type of tumor Kennedy has, is difficult because these tumors are "aggressive."

He put out a statement, which focused on the surgery, but he reminded people that he is still very much in the business of politics, and he closed with, "After completing treatment, I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president." He also had a chat with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid before the surgery.

[Kennedy's Statement AP/Globe, Boston Globe]