Melania Trump in 'High Spirits,' Returns to White House After Kidney Procedure and Rest
The US first lady, Melania Trump, is now back home after nearly a week spent at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She has been "resting comfortably" in the almost five days she spent recovering from a kidney procedure, according to a representative.
Mrs. Trump has been "resting comfortably and remains in high spirits" shortly before her return, according to Stephanie Grisham, communications director for the first lady, as quoted by the New York Times.
She may have been in the hospital for less than five days, but her husband and US president Donald Trump has dropped by at least three times over this past week.
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"Great to have our incredible First Lady back home in the White House. Melania is feeling and doing really well. Thank you for all of your prayers and best wishes!" he wrote on Twitter on Saturday, May 19.
Melania Trump had to undergo a medical procedure last week, on Monday morning, May 14, for what the White House described as a "benign kidney condition." The 48-year old wife to the US president underwent what is called an embolization procedure, where a porous, spongy material is placed into an artery leading to a kidney.
Embolization is a way to cut off blood supply to an organ or part of the body and is usually used to stop bleeding from a benign tumor or a small aneurysm. This procedure is frequently used to alleviate the symptoms of a patient, sometimes in advance of a surgery but more frequently in cases where the patient cannot undergo surgery for some reason, according to the Johns Hopkins Patients' Guide to kidney cancer.
"It's like literally an outpatient procedure," Dr. Eleanor D. Lederer, former president of the American Society of Nephrology. "You go in, you have it done, you lie in bed for a while to keep the blood vessel from bleeding and then you go home," she added.
It has since been a puzzle on why Melania Trump had to rest in the hospital for a week, which is considered unusual for someone undergoing just the embolization procedure, according to medical experts. Then again, it could be just because of her status as the first lady.
"If it was you, you'd be in and out in a day, I promise," Dr. Jeffrey Cadeddu, a professor of urology and radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said.
The White House has offered no explanation on why Melania Trump had to undergo the procedure, or what it meant by the "benign kidney condition" mentioned in a statement.
As for Donald Trump, he had no public events on his schedule on the day Melania returned to the White House.
