Apparently, Senator Ted Kennedy has suffered 'stroke like' symptoms and was airlifted from Cape Cod Hospital to Mass. General Hospital last night.

He is 76 years old and had recently had what is being reported as carotid surgery for 'blockage' in his blood vessels, but had returned to work following that surgery, and was by all reports ,doing well post surgery.

That procedure is called an Endarterectomy and is generally considered to be a very delicate anhttp://www.vascularweb.org/p­atients/NorthPoint/Carotid_End­arterectomy.htmld oftentimes unsuccessful surgery.

It is not uncommon for those who need and have this surgery to not survive. It's one of those difficult situations where the person who needs the surgery so sorely also ,sadly ,no longer has the benefit of youth and vigor needed in order to heal and survive it..in ther words when the arteries and other vital blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients via the circulatory systems become flaccid ,aged and filled with plaque causing the blood to clog and to refill,or back log and become congested with plaque like material, the only option, may be to do surgery to remove the blockage and or remove a portion of the vessel and do what is known as an anastamosis of rejoining the ends of of the artery after excision of a very damaged strangulated portion of it..that due to the person's age and other deteriorating health factors, they still may not do well or survive long, post surgically because the remaining vessels are still so aged and deteriorated anyway. That and the surgery itself is so delicate and the vessels so intensely vital to supplying O2 to the brain oftentimes patients suffer anoxia and also strokes during the surgery itself or immediately post surgically.

It's suprising to me that Senator Kennedy underwent such a potentially serious and always very cautious and often times very ill advised surgery for the reasons mentioned above and nothing has come out until now about it.

At any rate, Kennedy has a long long tenure in the U.S. Senate. Having first been elected in 1962. His recent endorsement of Barack Obama has been much in the news of late, even though it was notable that though Kennedy had endorsed Mr Obama, he was not able to carry his home state for him, and instead his state voted for Hillary Clinton in the Primary there ,several months ago.

As the last surviving brother of President John F. Kennedy and a very important figure in the Democratic Party and having moved and enormous amount of legislation through the Senate since 1962, his career has been enormously influential in the democratic party..

note on Endarterectomy.http://www.vasc­ularweb.org/patients/NorthPoin­t/Carotid_Endarterectomy.html

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sorry, trouble with that medical link above.

Would you PLEASE at LEAST read up before attempting to post on these topics. You are clueless!

For example:

1. survival rates are very good. only about 10% of these patients experience post-surgical and/or medical complications, and most of those resolve. And if I remember correctly only about a third of those with any complications even needed prolonged hospitalization. (it's been awhile)...I'm guessing people are doing better than they were back in the 90s when I was still scrubbing for these. (i never first-assisted one of these...I was still only a scrub nurse...but I have scrubbed for more than two dozen endarterectomies...and all were successful)

2. Do. PLEASE. Look up the word 'anastomosis' (and reanastomosis) so that you can use it properly in a sentence.

LaurieAnnM:

It is not uncommon for those who need and have this surgery to not survive.

[snip]

and do what is known as an anastamosis of rejoining the ends of of the artery after excision of a very damaged strangulated portion of it..

Breaking News

It appears Sen. Edward Kennedy experienced a seizure before being hospitalized in Boston, according to a statement from his office.

Hi Th Paine. I just heard that too. My husband asked me what the difference between a stroke and a seizure is.

There is a world of difference of course. A seizure is an interruption of electrical actvity in the brain kind of like a flickering light bulb that has loose connections and then causes the body to go into spasmotic hyper activity. A stroke of course is more much mores serious where there is an interruption in blood flow to the brain caused by either an break in the blood vessel itself or blockage of the vessel, resulting in stroke, with sudden aphasia(inabilty to speak) numbness or paraylsis on the opposite side of the body to where whatever side of the brain is affected. Because the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and visa versa.

It is unclear whether he suffered a seizure post his stroke like symptoms or whether he suffered a seizure only by itself.

Hopefully it is just a seizure...looks like that is the latest news..thanks ThPaine.

:-)

issues. It is a simple operation if someone is 40 years old and in good health.

But they are not the people who generally need this operation. What don't you get about that?

As I explained above the sad dichotomy of the situation is that those who actually need the operation are generally thirty years older than a healthy 40 year old patient and as such these patients have such aged blood vessels and usually a fair degree of Congestive Heart Failure further complicating their ability to recuperate and pump blood through their bodies.

In these patients this surgery is fraught with an extremely high degree of caution and careful consideration before any reputable MD would allow his or her patient to undergo the prodecure.

In Kennedy's case no doubt he has the benefit of the utmost intensive care and monitoring due his particular status and abilty to get excellent health care ..but for many people in America this procedure is oftentimes contraindicated for reasons of age, CHF(chronic congestive heart failure)and often diabetes all of which further complicates the prognosis for successful recovery.

I simply can not believe the crassness of your distorted view when it comes to the considerations of the most basic concerns of people who work with human beings in the medical field.

To you..it's all just so much a factory and an assembly line of moving parts..people, human beings, are far more precious, fragile and in need of individual consideration and care bringing a myriad of factors into the overall considerations when ever considering any type of medical intervention.

You say it's been awhile since you 'scrubbed'

Thank god for that. I doubt you ever did more than scrub surgical instruments in the basement of a hospital's Central Supply...I hardly believe you ever were allowed inside an OR while any surgery was actually being done.. because what you know about human beings from a nursing or from a humane perspective is sorely limited to the most base of ideations.

...what is behind the mutual antagonism you two so obviously share.

I admit that is is sometimes entertaining to watch, from afar, sort of like watching Jerry Springer -- of course, it always leaves me feeling vaguely dirty, in need of a shower (and I don't mean a cold shower) afterwards!

I know. It is upsetting.Without further blame in any direction..... whatever the situation,is:Let it be.

As they say..The good news always is to know not to take anything in life so hard because 'God is in Charge', ultimately,not me, or anyone else.

Sorry, if you feel upset.

Spare me the details...just let me know when the bastard dies.

Jack

JanZ:

Mary Jo Kopechne

Relevant in exactly what way?

Seriously. You both disgust me.

Ugly is as it does.

Seriously going to loose a lot of sleep over your dissapointment.

Well, you know....we all have flaws but I could ask you the same question.

You belong to a political party that openly advocates the murder of unborn babies, a party that lobbys for pornographic art that displays minor children being abused and Christianity being degraded, a party that just decided to allow perversion to be the law of the state of California, and party that opposes even the mention of Jesus Christ in any public forum.

Glass houses...and all that, you know. I would be so self-righteous if I were you.

Jack