Seve to Have Additional Surgery on Friday
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 23, 2008 12:57 PM EDT
Email
PrintAn update from Reuters does not indicate good things for Seve:
Spain's five-times golf major winner Seve Ballesteros will undergo further brain surgery on Friday to ease swelling from a serious brain tumour, the hospital treating him said on Thursday.
"The patient Mr Severiano Ballesteros remains stable (in a serious condition).", Madrid's Hospital La Paz said in a statement, adding that the operation to stop a hematoma (bleeding) and to ease swelling would take place on Friday.
La Paz said the 51-year-old Ballesteros was suffering from an oligoastrocytoma -- a tumour that affects two types of brain cell.
While doctors are operating they will also remove more tumour cells, the hospital said. His situation is complicated by the position of the tumour.
"It is located in an area that requires a very thorough approach of great complexity," the statement said.
Medical opinion cited in the piece is not encouraging.
Dr Geoff Pilkington, a tumour expert at England's University of Portsmouth, said that type of tumour was very difficult to eradicate but a patient's survival time could be improved by radiotherapy followed by chemotherapy.
Pilkington said it was difficult to say how long the Spaniard might survive without knowing more about the tumour, which will have been classified from one to four on a grade of seriousness. The hospital declined to reveal the tumour's grade.
"I think it's going to be at least a three because the mixed tumours usually are," he told Reuters.
"They generally develop into a high grade tumour from which a patient will eventually die. This is not good. The likelihood is that he will die from the tumour at some stage."
Sad news on Seve's condition.
3 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
AP Story
The AP story says the tumor is malignant…
Ballesteros brain tumor is cancerous
Thu Oct 23, 12:26 PM EDT
Seve Ballesteros’ brain tumor is cancerous and he will undergo another operation to relieve pressure caused by swelling and bleeding that have recently developed.
The remaining parts of the malignant tumor, located in a very deep part of the brain, will be removed in Friday’s procedure.
La Paz Hospital said Thursday that the surgery is ``of great complexity.’’
Three doctors will operate on Ballesteros. Javier Heredero, head of the hospital’s neurosurgery unit, will be accompanied by neurosurgeons Marcelino Perez Alvarez and Alberto Isla. The operation is due to begin early in the morning and is expected to last until the afternoon.
The 51-year-old Ballesteros was in stable, but serious, condition before the operation, the hospital said.
Based on an analysis of cells already moved, the tumor is classified as an oligoastrocytoma, a type that affects ``cells that cover and protect the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord,’’ the hospital said.
Ballesteros was admitted to the hospital Oct. 6, and 10 days later a sizable part of the tumor was taken out.
Part of his skull was removed – a procedure known as decompressive craniotomy – to allow room for a swelling brain to expand. Doctors said it was not uncommon after such complex operations.
Ballesteros, who won three British Opens and two Masters, briefly lost consciousness while at Madrid’s international airport Oct. 6.
In a personally signed statement from his hospital bed, Ballesteros said he faced the ``hardest challenge of my life.’’
Ballesteros, who won a record 50 tournaments on the European Tour, retired last year because of a long history of back pain and has since concentrated on golf course design.
Ballesteros transformed European golf. After the Ryder Cup was expanded to include continental Europe in 1979, Ballesteros helped beat the United States in 1985 to begin two decades of dominance. He also captained Europe to victory in 1997 at Valderrama, Spain.
Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal made one of the most formidable partnerships in Ryder Cup history, with 11 wins, two losses and two halves.
The Associated Press
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Oh no
I’m going to look into what type of cancer this is and what it really means.
by Ryan Ballengee on Oct 23, 2008 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions
I can't even pronounce this
Based on an analysis of cells already moved, the tumor is classified as an oligoastrocytoma, a type that affects ``cells that cover and protect the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord,’’ the hospital said.
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Have a golf story tip? Contact editor Charles Boyer and he will follow the story! Thanks!
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
