Melania Trump hospitalized, undergoes medical procedure ‘to treat a benign kidney condition’

First lady Melania Trump underwent a medical procedure to “treat a benign kidney condition” Monday morning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is expected to remain hospitalized for the rest of the week.

“The procedure was successful and there were no complications,” Stephanie Grisham, the first lady’s communications director, 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.”

Early Tuesday, President Trump noted that the first lady was “doing really well” and could be released from the hospital in as soon as two days.

“Our great First Lady is doing really well,” Trump wrote in a tweet. “Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!”

The earlier statement from Grisham vaguely described the procedure as “an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition” but offered no additional details about the first lady’s condition or treatment. Grisham declined to provide additional information or answer questions about the procedure, saying that the first lady is entitled to privacy.

In embolization, doctors insert a catheter as part of a procedure to purposely block a blood vessel and cut off the blood supply to the affected area. This can be done by sending a coil or a substance down the catheter.

The catheter is usually inserted in the femoral artery in the thigh and then threaded through the aorta to the renal artery and then to a smaller blood vessel.

The most likely reason for such a procedure is to treat a benign tumor known as an angiomyolipoma, according to Mohamad E. Allaf, vice chairman of the urology department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Such tumors are usually found by accident, when doctors are taking images for another reason, he said. But if there is bleeding from the vessels, symptoms can include bruising, front and back pain in the kidney area or lightheadedness, he said. - More, Washingtonpost

Melania Trump hospitalized, undergoes medical procedure ‘to treat a benign kidney condition’

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