Surgery

Berkeley County's junior state senator is on the mend after he underwent surgery Monday morning at a Charleston, W.Va., hospital to address a recurring bout with erratic blood pressure. “I'm just grateful to be eating again,” Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said in a telephone interview from his room at Charleston Area Medical Center Monday afternoon. Blair said the surgery involved the placement of a stint to address an 80 percent renal artery blockage in his kidneys. “It was quite a challenge just to find (the blockage)

HAMILTON, Ontario (AP) - Singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, whose hits include "Sundown" and "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," was recovering Monday from emergency stomach surgery. The 63-year-old Canadian performer underwent surgery Sunday for an unspecified stomach ailment, according to acquaintances and hospital officials. Rick Haynes, a member of Lightfoot's band, said Sunday night that Lightfoot was in a hospital intensive care unit and was conscious, although he did not elaborate on the procedure.

When Washington County District Judge Ralph France entered Washington (D.C.) Hospital Center Feb. 19 for medical tests, he expected to return home that day. Instead, the 56-year-old jurist underwent heart surgery. He was released from the hospital on Feb. 24, according to his wife, Carol France. He will be recuperating at home for about six weeks, she said. Earlier this month, France experienced some chest pains and went to his doctor for a stress test. Based on the results of those tests, an exploratory heart catheterization was scheduled.

To friends and family, Wilma Cunningham is considered the "bionic woman. " The Greencastle, Pa., native has had five total joint replacement surgeries with in the past few years. Her hip, shoulders and knees have all been operated on by Hagerstown orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ralph Salvagno. "I feel good," she said. Cunningham and about 375 other joint replacement patients of Dr. Salvagno and his partner, Dr. Tom Altizer, gathered Sunday for a reception at the Four Points Hotel.

A man who was critically injured when he was stabbed in the neck early Saturday in the parking lot of Divi's nightclub is expected to survive, a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said Sunday night. Sgt. John Lehman said he spoke to the man Saturday. He said the man came through surgery, and was talking and alert. Another man was stabbed in the chest at the club at 431 Dual Highway, but his injury was not life-threatening, police said. Police said the incident happened Saturday shortly before 2 a.m., when a fight involving several people started in the parking lot. When police arrived, they said they discovered that two men had been stabbed.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - State Sen. Terry Punt was in the intensive care unit of Harrisburg Hospital on Tuesday after undergoing quadruple bypass surgery, according to Chief of Staff Sally Kohr. "I have seen him and talked with him. For what he's gone through, he's doing pretty well," Kohr said Tuesday. "The doctor was very pleased with how things went. " The surgery to bypass the clogged arteries began at about 8 a.m. and took approximately four hours to complete, Kohr said.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com WAYNESBORO, Pa. - State Sen. Terry Punt, R-Franklin, is scheduled to undergo coronary bypass surgery today at Harrisburg (Pa.) Hospital after having an apparent heart attack last fall, according to his Harrisburg office. "Tests done in January confirmed that Punt had a silent heart attack in November/December 2004 which prompted a battery of additional tests," according to the statement from his office. The tests indicated Punt will need four to six bypasses.

No one would be surprised to learn that last week I went to Washington County Hospital and got my throat slit. What might be revealing is that I asked for it. For the past few years now, I've had a knot on the side of my neck that made it look as if I'd been bitten by a 250-pound mosquito. It didn't bother me in the least, but it almost always made children cry, and stuff. If I'd had a matching lug on the other side of my neck, I would have looked exactly like Frankenstein.

FUNKSTOWN - Funkstown Mayor Robert L. Kline was absent from Monday's mayor and Town Council meeting while he recovered from surgery.Town Clerk Brenda Haynes said the mayor had surgery on his carotid artery on Wednesday and is "looking very good. " "He was very upset that he couldn't be here this evening," she said.

St. Maria Goretti outdoor track and cross country coach Mike Spinnler took the podium at Tuesday's 32nd True Grit Awards banquet like a minister in front of his congregation. The keynote speaker of the awards spoke of 2011 keynote speaker Susan Graham-Gray, the only legally blind athlete to ever qualify for, compete in and complete the U.S. Olympic Marathon trials. He spoke of being hit by a car in 1983, which resulted in a calf contusion and foot damage that required surgery after surgery and eventually robbed him of his ability to run competitively.

Washington County Board of Education President Justin Hartings said Thursday he had his appendix removed Monday and he expected to be released from Meritus Medical Center soon. Hartings said he expects to be at the April 23 school board meeting. The April 16 school board meeting was canceled because there weren't enough board members for a quorum due to unforeseen circumstances, school system spokesman Richard Wright said Tuesday. During Wednesday night's Teacher of the Year ceremony, Schools Superintendent Clayton Wilcox told the crowd Hartings was in the hospital after having emergency surgery.

With arm surgeries behind them, Christian Binford and Josh Conway are taking the next steps toward their dreams of wearing a Major League Baseball uniform. Binford, a Mercersburg Academy graduate from Hagerstown, is a pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization after being drafted in the 30th round of the MLB draft in 2011. Conway, a Smithsburg High School graduate, was originally drafted by Atlanta, but chose instead to go to Coastal Carolina University. He was then drafted in the 4th round by the Chicago Cubs in 2012.

Berkeley County's junior state senator is on the mend after he underwent surgery Monday morning at a Charleston, W.Va., hospital to address a recurring bout with erratic blood pressure. “I'm just grateful to be eating again,” Sen. Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, said in a telephone interview from his room at Charleston Area Medical Center Monday afternoon. Blair said the surgery involved the placement of a stint to address an 80 percent renal artery blockage in his kidneys. “It was quite a challenge just to find (the blockage)

A man who was critically injured when he was stabbed in the neck early Saturday in the parking lot of Divi's nightclub is expected to survive, a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said Sunday night. Sgt. John Lehman said he spoke to the man Saturday. He said the man came through surgery, and was talking and alert. Another man was stabbed in the chest at the club at 431 Dual Highway, but his injury was not life-threatening, police said. Police said the incident happened Saturday shortly before 2 a.m., when a fight involving several people started in the parking lot. When police arrived, they said they discovered that two men had been stabbed.

A patient appreciation event is from noon to 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, at Plastic Surgery Services, 1140 Conrad Court, Hagerstown. Thomas with iS Clinical will demonstrate the Fire and Ice Facial. Refreshments and raffles will be available. RSVP by today. Call 301-791-1800.

It appears a man who was seriously stabbed in a dispute at 720 W. Franklin St., Tuesday morning had been in a relationship with a woman who was charged in the attack, a Hagerstown Police Department spokesman said. Police said the man was stabbed in the upper left thigh as a result of a domestic dispute that escalated, although it is unclear what the argument was about, said Detective Sgt. Jim Hurd. “He wasn't in any condition to talk to us today,” Hurd said. Hurd said the stab wound was a life-threatening situation because the knife had struck the man's femoral artery in the leg. The man successfully made it through surgery Tuesday afternoon at Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown, although he was still in critical condition after the surgery, according to Hurd and Lt. Tom Langston.

On Oct. 10, more than 100 employees from Brook Lane Health Services in Hagerstown participated in “Pin on the Pink Casual Day” to support breast cancer awareness. The event was particularly poignant for the hospital staff because the previous week, a friend and co-worker, Nancy Leab, underwent surgery for a recurrence of breast cancer. Aubrey Rainbow, activities specialist, produced 25 pink T-shirts for the hospital staff to wear to show their support for Leab. The staff “put on the pink” for the entire day.

Dr. Stephen McKenna will lead an informational seminar on bariatric Surgery for the treatment of obesity on the fourth Monday of every month at Frederick Memorial Hospital, 400 W. Seventh St., Frederick. The next class is at 6 p.m. today in classrooms 1 and 2, which are on the second floor of the hospital. The sessions are free.  To register in advance, e-mail  your name and a contact number to mckennasurgery@yahoo.com , or call 240-457-4605.

Eileen Hope Rindone, the 84-year-old woman who fell through an exposed ceiling to the floor below in a Boonsboro-area assisted living center last week, remained in serious condition Wednesday afternoon at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, a hospital spokeswoman said. Rindone was doing better after five hours of surgery on Tuesday, said her daughter, Michele Carpenter, of Hagerstown. A co-owner of Soma Manor House assisted living center faces criminal charges in connection with the Aug. 9 incident, according to Washington County District Court records.