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TB Patient Preps for Surgery

Docs will remove tubercular portion of Andrew Speaker's lung; could clear the disease

By J. Kelman,  Newser User

Posted Jun 15, 2007 3:42 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The TB traveler will go under the knife to remove a tennis-ball sized area of infected lung tissue, his doctors said today. Andrew Speaker, who triggered an international health crisis last month when he took a transatlantic flight while infected with an extremely drug-resistant strain of TB, will undergo surgery in July.

Speaker's sputum tested negative for TB for the third time last week, meaning that he is effectively noncontagious. But the laproscopic surgery offers a potential cure, by removing most of the infected tissue and allowing antibiotics to work more effectively on any areas that remain. Doctors say the treatment may allow Speaker to return home in as little as a month.

e was told he wasn't contagious or a threat to anyone. (AP Photo/ABC News) MANDATORY CREDIT. WATERMARK MAY NOT BE REMOVED OR ALTERED IN ANY WAY.
e was told he wasn't contagious or a threat to anyone. (AP Photo/ABC News) MANDATORY CREDIT. WATERMARK MAY NOT BE REMOVED OR ALTERED IN ANY WAY.   (Associated Press)
In this image made from television and released by ABC News, Andrew Speaker speaks through a face mask from National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo during a Good Morning America interview with Diane Sawyer, unseen, aired Friday June 1, 2007. Speaker, 31, an Atlanta attorney quarantined with...
In this image made from television and released by ABC News, Andrew Speaker speaks through a face mask from National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, Colo during a "Good Morning America"...   (Associated Press)
(AP Photo/Public Affairs Office of National Jewish Medical and Research Center, William Alsetter)
(AP Photo/Public Affairs Office of National Jewish Medical and Research Center, William Alsetter)   (Associated Press)
ating drug-resistant infections with a combination of drugs and surgery. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
ating drug-resistant infections with a combination of drugs and surgery. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)   (Associated Press)
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CDC advisory on Speaker case
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Speaker called 'relatively noncontagious' after third negative sputum test
Associated Press

Researchers want more research dollars, attention for TB
New York Times

Diane Sawyer interviews Speaker
ABC News

 
health • surgery • Tuberculosis • Andrew Speaker • infection

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