Gallbladder surgery lands Sen. Mark Kirk in hospital

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mark Kirk R-Ill. underwent surgery Monday to remove his gallbladder, according to his office.

Kirk, who is recovering from a stroke that left him absent from the Senate for almost an entire year, returned to the Senate last January.

After suffering from stomach pains, Kirk, who lives in Highland Park, went to Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital on Saturday morning, his office said in a statement. “Doctors determined that, due to the fact that he had gall stones, his gallbladder needed to be removed. This morning Senator Kirk underwent a successful surgery to have his gallbladder removed and is resting comfortably. His doctor expects a quick recovery.”

Dr. Kim Sobinsky, a surgeon at the hospital, said in a statement Kirk had a laparascopic cholecystectomy, “a minimally invasive procedure to remove the gallbladder. The procedure took 30 minutes and went as planned without any complications.”

Sobinsky said patients usually recover from gallbladder surgery in two or three weeks and Kirk’s “lifestyle will not be changed by this procedure.”