Kennedy out of brain tumor surgery

DURHAM, N.C., June 2 (UPI) -- Doctors at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina have completed brain surgery on U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, medical officials said Monday.

"I am pleased to report that Senator Kennedy's surgery was successful and accomplished our goals," Dr. Allen Friedman, who led the surgical team, said on the medical center's Web site. "Senator Kennedy was awake during the resection, and should therefore experience no permanent neurological effects from the surgery."

The surgery lasted about 3 1/2 hours "and is just the first step in Senator Kennedy's treatment plan," the surgeon said.

Kennedy's office earlier Monday said the senator would undergo the surgery at the Durham, N.C., facility, known as a leader in brain tumor surgery. He is expected to be hospitalized for about a week, then return to Massachusetts for radiation and chemotherapy treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"After completing treatment, I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect (Sen.) Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as our next president," Kennedy said in a statement issued before the surgery.

Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May after he was hospitalized following a seizure.