U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, is undergoing surgery Monday to treat spinal stenosis, according to her office.
Dr. Judith L. Gorelick, a board-certified neurosurgeon, will perform the surgery at Griffin Hospital in Derby. The doctor called the procedure “a common treatment for a common occurrence.”
DeLauro’s office said the congresswoman will go to physical therapy after the procedure to help with recovery. DeLauro, 82, will pick her work schedule back up during her treatment.
She is having the surgery while Congress is on a month-long recess through August. Her office said she will return to Washington, D.C., after Labor Day with the rest of Congress.
The Mayo Clinic describes spinal stenosis as a condition where the spaces in the backbone are too small. It is a more common diagnosis in people who are over 50.
Some people have no symptoms, but others may feel pain, tingling, numbness or muscle weakness. For many people diagnosed with spinal stenosis, it mostly occurs in the lower back or neck.
“The most common cause of spinal stenosis is wear-and-tear damage in the spine related to arthritis,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “People who have serious spinal stenosis may need surgery.”
Surgery can create more space and ease some of the symptoms caused by spinal stenosis. But if someone has arthritis, surgery cannot cure it, so pain in the spine attributed to that may not go away.
When she returns to Washington, D.C., in September, DeLauro and other congressional appropriators will be working on a quick deadline to fund the federal government. Funding runs out on Sept. 30.
She is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee and will help negotiate spending bills, though lawmakers may need to approve a short-term funding bill if they are unable to pass year-long spending bills for the next fiscal year.
DeLauro is the longest-serving member of Connecticut’s congressional delegation. She was first elected in 1990.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
