U.S. Senator Mark Kirk suffers stroke, undergoes surgery

PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. Senator Mark Kirk underwent surgery on Monday, Jan 23, after suffering a stroke, according to a statement from the Illinois Republican lawmaker's office.

Reuters reported that surgeons at Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital removed a portion of the 52-year-old Kirk's skull to relieve pressure from post-stroke brain swelling, and said he had "tolerated that surgery very well."

Kirk, formerly a five-term member of the House of Representatives, won election in 2010 to President Barack Obama's old Senate seat, which was vacant.

The ischemic stroke, which is when blood flow is impeded by a blockage, in this case through the carotid artery, impacted the right side of Kirk's brain.

"It will affect his ability to move his left arm, possibly his left leg, and possibly will involve some facial paralysis," said Northwestern Memorial Hospital neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Fessler, who performed the surgery.

Had it happened on the left side of his brain, Fessler said "it would have affected his ability to speak, understand, and think. So we're very hopeful that when we get through his recovery, all of those functions will be intact."

Kirk checked into a hospital in the northern Chicago suburb of Lake Forest, Illinois, on Saturday, suffering from headache and dizziness, and was transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Kirk, a native of Champaign, Illinois, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2000 and narrowly beat Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat.

He recently endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney in the nominating process to select a Republican to challenge Obama for the White House in 2012.