Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) underwent emergency surgery on Tuesday to remove an acute blood clot in her leg, her campaign said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
The Colorado congresswoman was admitted to a hospital in Loveland on Monday afternoon with severe swelling in her upper left leg, according to the statement. Doctors discovered the clot and diagnosed her with May-Thurner syndrome, a rare vascular condition that compresses a major blood vessel in the pelvis and can lead to deep vein thrombosis.
A surgery to remove the clot and insert a stent was scheduled and performed the next morning.
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“After taking time to rest as recommended by doctors, she is expected to make a full recovery with no significant concerns for her long-term health and no hindrance to her ability to perform her duties as a Congresswoman,” the campaign said, adding that she remains in “good spirits.”
The message was echoed by Dr. Rebecca Bade, a hospitalist at UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies who worked on Boebert’s case. Bade said that patients with May-Thurner syndrome “who undergo the procedure to restore blood flow are able to live and work just as they have in the past after a brief recovery.”
In her campaign’s statement, the congresswoman thanked her medical team and said she was looking forward to recovering “and getting back to Congress to continue fighting for Colorado.”
George Santos, the former Republican congressman running for re-election as an independent, tweeted that he wanted to “thank god for the blessing” given to Boebert, a “dear friend” with whom he remains closely allied.
“Lauren underwent a surgery and has come out on the other end of it and is doing well,” he said. “I want to thank all the medical staff that looked after my friend and the Doctors who took this enormous responsibility. It’s everyday hero’s [sic] like these that we need to be thanking everyday.”
May-Thurner syndrome is diagnosed when a patient’s right iliac artery presses on their left iliac vein, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It is most common in adults between 20 and 50 years old, particularly women who have been pregnant. Exactly why the compression occurs is unclear.
“An exact cause is unknown, but dehydration, travel, and extended periods of sitting have all been identified as potential factors in causing symptoms of May-Thurner Syndrome,” Boebert’s campaign said.
Boebert, 37, is in her second term of representing Colorado’s 3rd District. After barely eking out re-election there in 2022, she announced last December that, for her next term, she would run in the state’s more reliably red 4th District.
