By CQ Staff

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy , D-Mass., underwent “targeted surgery” Monday for a malignant brain tumor diagnosed last month after he suffered a seizure May 17 at his Cape Cod home.

“I am pleased to report that Senator Kennedy’s surgery was successful and accomplished our goals,” said Dr. Allan Friedman of Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. “The surgery lasted roughly three and a half hours and is just the first step in Sen. Kennedy’s treatment plan.”

Friedman, 59, is the chief of neurosurgery at Duke University Hospital and deputy director of its Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center.

Kennedy will remain at Duke for about a week, then return to his home state for radiation treatments at Massachusetts General Hospital and chemotherapy.

“I am deeply grateful to the people of Massachusetts and to my friends, colleagues and so many others across the country and around the world who have expressed their support and good wishes as I tackle this new and unexpected health challenge,” the 76-year-old liberal icon said in a statement. “I am humbled by the outpouring and am strengthened by your prayers and kindness.”

Kennedy said he and his wife, Vicki, had decided in consultation with his doctors and experts from around the country “that the best course of action for my brain tumor is targeted surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiation.”

News of the surgery came as a surprise, because Kennedy’s doctors at Mass General had not mentioned it as a treatment option at the time his malignant glioma was discovered.

Kennedy said that once he has completed treatment, “I look forward to returning to the United States Senate and to doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president.”

With his absence likely to stretch into weeks, or even months, Kennedy last week arranged for Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski , D-Md., to pinch-hit for him in negotiations on a major overhaul (HR 4137, S 1642) of the Higher Education Act.

President Bush on Friday signed the latest extension (S 3035) of the law, which will last through June 30.

Kennedy leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Mikulski, the No. 4 Democrat on that panel, will handle the member-to-member negotiations with House education leaders as both sides push to wrap up the big reauthorization bill.

Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, who is the No. 2 Democrat on the HELP Committee as well as chairman of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, is one of Kennedy’s closest friends.

He said after his colleague’s surgery Monday that Kennedy “has asked me to continue our work on some of the important pieces of legislation coming before the Senate, including the Mental Health Parity Act. I’m honored to help shepherd this legislation through until he returns.”