Stacy Ritter Facing Surgery

BY BUDDY NEVINS

Broward County Commissioner Stacy Ritter is taking approximately a month off starting next week for surgery.

By being upfront about the reason for her absence, Ritter should head off the kind of speculation that swirled around fellow Commissioner Ilene Lieberman when she missed meetings recently.

 

 

Ritter is having a hysterectomy.

Her surgeon told her to avoid driving for up to a month after the procedure, now scheduled for April 25.

Ritter expects to be able to participate in the May 3 and May 10 meetings by phone. She hopes to be well enough to attend the May 17 meeting.

The surgery was scheduled after a physician found a lump during a routine exam earlier this year.  There is no evidence of malignancy.

Ritter is 50.

The surgery will take place at Coral Ridge Medical Center.

Ritter, who is running for re-election in 2012’s Democratic primary, wisely decided to defuse a possible controversy over her missing meetings. Lieberman was savaged by the media earlier this year for not clearly explaining why she was absent.

Speculation centered on Lieberman’s role in the federal and state probes of corruption at the county commission. The buzz included allegations that she was having a breakdown because she was the target of the investigation.

It is now know that Lieberman is cooperating with authorities.

After Lieberman’s experience, Ritter knew what would happen if she missed meetings without a full explanation. Like Lieberman, Ritter has been connected to the corruption probe.

No evidence has been made public that Ritter criminally broke any laws. She has not been charged with a crime, although she is facing non-criminal election law violations which she calls “technical.

Hysterectomies are a common, serious surgery. It is mostly performed on mature women and involves removing the uterus. Sometimes, other parts of the reproductive system are also removed.

The overwhelming majority of hysterectomies result in no finding of malignancy, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The National Institutes of Health reports that the average recovery time for such a procedure is a month.

Ritter expects to be in the hospital two or three days and then spend the rest of the recovery period at her Parkland home.



7 Responses to “Stacy Ritter Facing Surgery”

  1. Tracy says:

    My prayers go out to you, Stacy. Get well soon.

  2. Richard J. Kaplan says:

    I wish her a speedy recovery.

  3. Republican friend says:

    Good luck Stacy. You will be in my prayers for a speedy recovery!

  4. Fake Ari says:

    Maybe this is a message from God that you should retire at the end of 2012, Stacy, rather than run for re-election.

  5. Friendly Advice says:

    If it is “a lump” that is not malignant, what is it? A fibroid?

    True that hysterectomies are common. They are also largely unnecessary, unless malignancies are present. There are alternaties, many much less invasive. If it is a fibroid issue, one alternative is to “wait it out” – they shrink with and pot menopause.

    Visit the HERS Foundation website, give them a call. A little learning will be helpful.

  6. Friendly Advice says:

    Sorry for typos:
    alternatives
    post-menopause

    Postscript: they are handy, easy moneymaking cash-cows for doctors. For women, they can alter the quality of your life: hormones, nerve functioning, sexual functioning, cause back pain, memory loss and a host of other issues.

  7. anonymous says:

    Fake Ari: That’s NOT funny. Not in any way, shape or form.