First lady Melania Trump, 48, benefited from a run-in with interventional radiology Monday morning after undergoing surgery for a benign kidney condition, according to a statement from the White House released May 14.
Specifically, the first lady underwent renal artery embolization and will remain in recovery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, D.C., for the rest of the week.
"The first lady looks forward to a full recovery, so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere," according to the White House.
The White House did not explain why she sought treatment in the first place, although specialists may have been monitoring the mass for some time or she experienced symptoms such as back pain or blood in the urine, according to an article published May 14 by The New York Times.
The White House report was accompanied by a tweet made by President Donald Trump the same day, stating that the first lady was "doing really well" post-operation.
Today, the Society of Interventional Radiology released a statement wishing the first lady a "speedy recovery" from her operation accompanied by details about image guided embolization treatment.
Embolization can be used to stop bleeding in cases of trauma or to starve a fibroid or tumor of its blood supply, which the society suspects was the case for the first lady.
Specifically, it combines imaging and vascular treatment without requiring open surgery, usually allowing the patient to go home the same day.
"In performing an embolization, the interventional radiologist will make a small incision in the skin and insert a thin catheter into the artery," according to the statement. "Using real-time image guidance, the interventional radiologist then guides the catheter to the point of treatment—in Mrs. Trump’s case, the kidney—and releases an agent to stop the flow of blood. The beauty of this solution is that no open surgery is required, reducing both the patient’s risk and recovery time."
A recent graduate from Dominican University (IL) with a bachelor’s in journalism, Melissa joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering all aspects of health imaging. She’s a fan of singing and playing guitar, elephants, a good cup of tea, and her golden retriever Cooper.