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Graham Is 'Alert' Following Surgery

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The Associated Press

Published: February 14, 2008

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Evangelist Billy Graham underwent successful surgery Wednesday to update a shunt that controls excess fluid in his brain and was expected to remain in the hospital for several days.

Graham, 89, was listed in fair condition at Asheville's Mission Hospitals after the 28-minute procedure. "He's on a soft diet tonight, will be on a regular diet tomorrow, and should be up and walking around," said Larry Ross, Graham's spokesman.

Ralph C. Loomis installed a new valve in the shunt Wednesday. The valve can be programmed externally to maintain desired fluid levels and pressure.

Graham is expected to remain hospitalized until doctors program the valve to properly regulate the pressure. "He was bright and alert and conscious immediately after surgery and called me by name," Loomis said in a statement.

The charismatic Southern Baptist minister has several health concerns that have largely confined him to his mountainside home in Montreat for several years. Among them was hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid within the brain that can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.

In 2000, doctors at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., installed a shunt that drains excessive fluid from the brain through a small tube.

A recent checkup found the shunt was no longer adequately controlling the fluid.

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