US:SENATOR EDWARD Kennedy has undergone brain surgery for a malignant tumour but has vowed to return to the Senate following chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
His doctor, Allan Friedman, said yesterday afternoon that the senator had completed surgery successfully and that the operation had "accomplished our goals".
The five-hour surgery at Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina is unlikely to cure Mr Kennedy's cancer but doctors said that reducing the size of the tumour could help other forms of treatment to be more effective.
In a statement released before yesterday's operation, Mr Kennedy said he felt humbled by the outpouring of good wishes that followed his diagnosis last month.
"I am deeply grateful to the people of Massachusetts and to my friends, colleagues and so many others across the country and around the world who have expressed their support and good wishes as I tackle this new and unexpected health challenge," Mr Kennedy said, adding that he plans to return to work when he completes chemotherapy and radiation.
"I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president."
The hospital Mr Kennedy chose for yesterday's surgery has one of the world's leading brain cancer clinics with expertise in operating on the type of tumour Mr Kennedy has, a malignant glioma.
Surgeons must take care to target the surgery in order to avoid damaging healthy brain tissue that governs functions such as speech.
The senator is expected to remain in the North Carolina hospital for a week before returning to Boston for chemotherapy and radiation treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Mr Kennedy, the only surviving brother of president John F Kennedy and Robert F Kennedy, is the second longest serving member of the US Senate.