On Monday, May 14, Melania Trump – President Donald Trump’s third wife and US First Lady – was admitted to Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington for what has been described as a “major health concern”.
We soon discovered that Melania, 48, had surgery to treat a “benign” kidney condition, although, the surgical procedure she underwent is the first major surgery to be undertaken by a US First Lady since Nancy Raegan’s mastectomy back in October 1987.
Slovenia-born Melania rose from model to First Lady when her husband, Donald, became the President in 2016.
And while President Trump is only just on his way to visit his wife in hospital now, we can’t help but wonder: what exactly did Melania have done – and what can we take from this?
“This morning, First Lady Melania Trump underwent an embolisation procedure to treat a benign kidney condition,” the first lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, explains.
“The procedure was successful, and there were no complications.”
“The doctors at Walter Reed are expecting a full recovery. However, she will need to stay at the hospital for approximately one week.”
Melania will spend the rest of the week in hospital.
What is embolisation?
According to Health Point, kidney embolisation is the deliberate blocking of the blood flow to the kidney (or at least a part of it).
So, why does Melania’s blood flow to her kidneys need to be blocked? As Health Point state, kidney embolisation is used to control bleeding from the kidney caused by trauma (injury), tumours and other conditions. This is done by placing blocking agents in a blood vessel – think gelfoarm, metallic coils or PVA granules.
Following the three-hour surgery, which she would’ve received a local anaesthetic for, Melania would’ve been made to rest for four hours to ensure she wasn’t in pain or discomfort, that her vitals were good, and the puncture site of the catheter used to block the bloodflow didn’t leave any signs of swelling or bleeding at the puncture site.
We may not know the extent of Melania’s ailment, but we do wish her a speedy recovery!
