WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson remained in critical condition but was described as recovering and holding his wife's hand Thursday after emergency overnight surgery to repair bleeding inside his brain. The South Dakota lawmaker, 59, was on "an uncomplicated postoperative course," the U.S. Capitol physician said after visiting him Thursday afternoon. Johnson suffered a hemorrhage in his brain caused by a rare and sometimes fatal condition.
"He has been appropriately responsive to both word and touch. No further surgical intervention has been required," said the physician, Adm. John Eisold. He had said earlier, "The senator is recovering without complication."
Johnson was responding to the voice of his wife, Barbara, and following directions after the surgery, the senator's office said in a statement. "He was reaching for and holding her hand."
Eisold, the Capitol physician, said doctors stopped bleeding in Johnson's brain and drained the blood that had accumulated there. "It is premature to determine whether further surgery will be required or to assess any long-term prognosis," Eisold said.
| Correct. One of the golden rules of neurosurgery and neurology in stroke, aneurysm and AVM patients is that the quicker you recover, the better your ultimate recovery is going to be. That said, re-bleeding in the first 48 to 72 hr or so is the major issue. |
On Thursday afternoon, Johnson underwent an additional procedure to prevent blood clots. The procedure is standard after surgery, said Julianne Fisher, Johnson's spokeswoman. Otherwise, she said, there were no new developments. "No news is good news," she said.
| The procedure was likely (don't know for sure) placement of a filter in the inferior vena cava to prevent a blood clot in the legs from floating up to the lungs (called a 'pulmonary embolus'). These occur frequently after neurosurgery and can be fatal, so preventing them is a very good idea and is part of the standard of care. |
Johnson's condition, also known as AVM, or arteriovenous malformation, causes arteries and veins to grow abnormally large, become tangled and sometimes burst. The condition is often present from birth. |