Baucus will likely be released from the hospital this weekend and is expected to make a full recovery, according to the senator's physician. The pressure on his brain was likely caused by a head injury that Baucus, 62, sustained when he tripped and hit his head on a rock during a 50-mile race Nov. 22.
"Max is strong as an ox both physically and mentally," Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser said. "He sailed through the procedure and is expected to be back to 100 percent very soon."
Baucus had been scheduled to be in Missoula on Friday.
Baucus' personal physician Dr. Mark Sanz of Missoula said he expects the senator to make a full recovery.
"I've already talked to him and he sounded great," Sanz said. "He was a little groggy, but he was chipper. He was telling me what to do. He's a U.S. senator, he likes to be in charge."
Deaconess Billings Clinic neurosurgeon Dr. Stuart Goodman, who said he treats subdural hematomas "almost every week," said that most people do well after the blood is drained.
After the November accident, Baucus was treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for a badly cut and bruised face. Several stitches were needed to close a gash above his right eye. Kaiser said doctors at Walter Reed did not perform a CT scan, which would have created a three-dimensional image that may have revealed blood clots or bleeding within the brain.
Goodman was surprised that the doctors at Walter Reed did not perform a CT scan.
"There are more centers that would do it these days than would not," Goodman said. "It would be unusual not to do it. I guess they didn't feel that it was necessary."
Goodman noted that even if a CT scan had been performed, it's possible it would not have detected the bleeding. Sanz, who is the director of cardiology at the International Heart Institute at St. Patrick Hospital, said he did not think a CT scan would have revealed the injury.
"It is unlikely to have detected it," Sanz said. "They are very slow leaks. Maybe a CT scan two or three weeks after the accident would have detected it."
Baucus felt fine in the weeks after the accident but experienced dizziness, problems with motor skills and nausea while on a flight Thursday to Phoenix, according to Kaiser. The senator was scheduled to give a speech to the Edison Electric Institute, an organization that represents investor-owned electric utilities.
After the plane landed, Baucus called Sanz, who told him to go to the hospital. Baucus checked himself into the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Scottsdale where a CT scan was performed. The scan revealed the subdural hematoma.
Goodman said the symptoms were probably unrelated to the plane flight and Baucus may have had minor symptoms for weeks.
"I bet he has had headaches or something," Goodman said.
People over the age of 60 are more likely to suffer a subdural hematoma because as they age the brain shrinks and pulls away from its outer covering, or dura, according to the National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine.
The shrinking causes "bridging veins" - blood vessels that extend from the brain to the dura - to stretch and become more susceptible to breaking, according to the Library of Medicine. During a head trauma the veins rupture because of the sudden change in velocity. The torn blood veins spill blood into the area between the dura and brain, which then puts pressure on the brain.
Subdural hematomas are usually caused by head injuries and are seen in 15 percent of all head traumas, according to the Library of Medicine.
Goodman said the bridging veins were probably not bleeding constantly since the accident. He said when a person with a subdural hematoma is just walking around the bleeding stops. Sneezes, coughs and other actions where the head moves quickly cause the veins to bleed.
Baucus had "urgent" surgery rather than "emergency" surgery, according to Kaiser. If it had been an emergency, surgery would have been performed on Thursday.
Baucus wife, Wanda, and son, Zeno, traveled to Arizona on Thursday night to be with him.
"I was sorry to hear about Sen. Baucus' sudden need for medical attention today and I'm relieved to hear he's faring so well after the operation," Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., said in a statement. "I wish him a speedy recovery, and my thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Baucus and his family during this time."
Baucus, who has completed several marathons, has been training for the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run in Squaw Valley, Calif. The race will be held June 26-27.
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