First Lady Melania Trump was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday morning to treat a benign kidney condition.
According to the a White House spokesperson, the procedure was successful without any complications. However what the condition was and why it needed treatment were elaborated on.
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“This morning, first lady Melania Trump underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition. The procedure was successful, and there were no complications,” White House Communications Director Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
“Mrs. Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and will likely remain there for the duration of the week. The first lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere,” she continued.
CNN interviewed its chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to gain some insight into what was afflicting the First Lady.
“When I hear benign kidney condition, most of the time, you’re thinking a cyst and a cyst is basically a fluid-filled structure that can sometimes develop on top of the kidney, or within the kidney,” Gupta said. “It’s not something that typically gets embolized. Was there a cyst and something else associated with that cyst? What is it … is the question.”
“There are certain benign tumors that may be treated this way,” he continued. “These are the kind of tumors, you worry they could bleed because they have a lot of blood vessels in them. One of the ways to treat them is to embolize them, to block the blood flow to that part of the kidney,”
Embolization, according to the National Institute of Health, “cuts off the blood supply to a certain part of the body.” CNN also reached out to Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist at Orlando Health in Florida, to asked what whe would use embolization for.
“(I’d use it for ) something called angiomyolipoma, which is basically a benign growth of the kidney that has some fat in it and some cystic components,” Brahmbhatt said. “These are usually benign but if they grow they can cause bleeding around the kidney, they can cause bleeding in the urine, they can cause pain as well.”
He went on to explain that the procedure is usually low risk, though he understood why the doctors want Trump to stay in the hospital for the remainder of the week.
“The full lesion may not have been completely embolized and sometimes you need it done again,” Brahmbhatt said. “Or there could be “bleeding around the kidney or bleeding where you actually go through and get into your blood vessels.”
President Donald Trump did not initially accompany Trump to the hospital, but announced he was headed to there hours later.
“Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania,” the President tweeted on Monday. “Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!”
