Pa. Gov. Corbett Recovering In Pittsburgh Hospital Following Spine Surgery
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (CBS) - Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett is recuperating following successful back surgery this morning in Pittsburgh.
Corbett was under the knife for about an hour and a half to correct a condition called spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that results in compression of the nerves.
Lt. Governor Jim Cawley was acting governor (see related story) until Corbett was awake and alert, by 10:30am.
The governor's wife, Susan, spoke with reporters in Pittsburgh and indicated her husband was upbeat after the surgery.
"[He was] joking with the nurses," Susan Corbett said. "As soon as he became governor, he had a big smile on his face and asked for coffee. And we told him that he was governor everywhere but the recovery room."
She says the governor developed back pain during the campaign and consulted physicians when it did not subside following the election.
The governor is expected to stay one or two nights in the hospital, then another few days at his home in suburban Pittsburgh before returning to the capital.
Reported by KYW Harrisburg Bureau chief Tony Romeo
