By Gretchen Keiser

Surgery removing the right kidney and repairing a hernia was done on Atlanta’s apostolic administrator January 8, successfully removing a tumor on the kidney, his surgeon said.

Bishop James P. Lyke, OFM, will be hospitalized for approximately a week, Dr. Ned Franco said, and the normal course of recovery entails five to six weeks of recuperation at home.

Dr. Franco said a pathology report on the tumor would take approximately 36 hours after the three-hour surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Atlanta, which ended at about 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The report was not available when The Georgia Bulletin went to press.

Dr. Franco, a urologist, said he could not be certain whether or not the tumor was malignant until the pathology report was complete. Surgery is generally completely successful, even if the tumor is malignant, he said.

In Bishop Lyke’s case, he said, “the tumor appeared well confined to the kidney. The liver was fine and the lymph glands and vessels appeared normal. The outlook looks very good.”

Surgery went “extremely well” and the bishop is generally in excellent health, Dr. Franco said. When a kidney is removed, the second kidney assumes the function necessary for the body, he said.

Bishop Lyke was expected to be in intensive care following surgery for at least one day and visitors have been restricted throughout his hospital stay.