Arroyo to undergo spine surgery on Friday

Former President and incumbent Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will undergo surgery to treat a pinched nerve in her spine on Friday morning, her doctor said Thursday. Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes of the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City said in a medical bulletin that the cervical spine surgery will be done at 7 a.m. and may last for four to five hours. Cervantes earlier described the operation as “risky," adding that the former President’s condition—known as "multi-level cervical spondylosis radiculopathy with kyphosis"— can lead to paralysis if not treated immediately. Arroyo was brought to the hospital on Monday after she experienced neck pains while visiting her constituents in the second district of Pampanga province in Central Luzon. She failed to attend President Benigno Aquino III's second State of the Nation Address delivered before Congress in joint session on July 25. To recall, Arroyo also failed to attend Aquino's first SONA last year as she accompanied her husband Mike Arroyo abroad for treatment. Mrs. Arroyo was also hospitalized in June due to the same condition, which her doctor said was triggered by her “continuing to work countless hours despite her stresses." — LBG, GMA News