Melania Trump ‘doing well’ after undergoing kidney surgery

DONALD TRUMP’S wife Melania has undergone kidney surgery for a “benign” condition, the White House announced yesterday.

The operation was “successful” and there were “no complications”, according to a statement put out by Mrs Trump’s team.

The US First Lady had the procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington DC, where she is expected to spend the rest of the week to recover.

The unexpected announcement came just days after Mrs Trump delivered her most prominent speech since entering the White House, launching a campaign to improve the lives of children.

Mrs Trump, 48, is a former model and the US president’s third wife. The pair married in 2005 and have a son together, Baron, who is 12.

Mrs Trump’s communications director said in a statement: “This morning, First Lady Melania Trump underwent an embolisation procedure to treat a benign kidney condition. The procedure was successful and there were no complications.

“Mrs Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and will likely remain there for the duration of the week. The first lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere.”

Mr Trump went to see his wife in hospital yesterday. He tweeted: “Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!”

The president reportedly spoke to Mrs Trump before the procedure and talked to her doctor immediately afterwards. The seriousness of the kidney issue was unclear, with aides to the first lady saying little beyond the fact that she was “doing well” after the operation.

The news came a surprise to Washington and did not leak from the White House before it was announced yesterday morning.

Anita Mcbride, former chief of staff to George W Bush’s wife Laura, said she could understand the decision to put only limited information into the public domain.

“I can completely understand their need and desire to keep it as tight as possible,” Ms Mcbride said on CNN,

‘Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!’

adding that she took a similar approach to Mrs Bush’s health concerns.

She said there is a difference between the public’s “right to know and need to know”, noting that voters did not have the same right to know about the president wife’s health as they did for the president.

Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian, said on CNN that the hospital treating Mrs Trump had the “best doctors in the country”, suggesting Mrs Trump would be in safe hands.

He noted that she is not the first wife of a president to undergo an operation while living in the White House.

Ronald Reagan’s wife Nancy was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a 50-minute operation in 1987. Gerald Ford’s wife Betty also had breast cancer.