Barbara Bush Recovers From 'Serious' Ulcer

Nov. 26, 2008— -- Barbara Bush's surgeon said she told him her recent bout with a perforated ulcer was "the worst pain she had ever felt" at a Wednesday press conference on the 83-year-old former first lady's condition.

Bush, who was admitted to the Methodist Hospital in Houston Tuesday with abdominal pains, was suffering from a perforated ulcer, the hospital confirmed in a statement.

Dr. Pat Reardon, director of the Methodist Hospital Advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery program and the surgeon who performed the procedure, told ABC News that former President George Bush took his wife straight to the emergency room, where doctors determined that she would need surgery for her ulcer immediately.

Reardon said the surgery lasted several hours and ended at 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday. In the course of the procedure, surgeons cleansed the former first lady's abdominal area, after which they patched and closed a one-centimeter hole in her stomach that was caused by the ulcer, the hospital statement said. Bush will likely remain hospitalized until next week.

On Wednesday afternoon, Reardon said Bush was doing very well, and her vital signs were stable. In accordance with the protocol for this type of surgery, Bush will remain in intensive care for at least another 24 hours. The inflammation from the surgery will make eating impossible for her for about a week, so she will stay in the hospital for at least that long, receiving intravenous antibiotics.

On Wednesday, first lady Laura Bush told ABC "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts that her mother-in-law is "doing great."

"The White House doctor did talk to Barbara Bush's doctor, and she's doing very well, and we're really, really thankful," Laura Bush said.

But Bush likely dodged a bullet. Calling her perforated ulcer "rare but serious," gastroenterologists said the former first lady's prognosis would have been far worse had she not sought immediate treatment.

Dr. Roshini Rajapaksa, a gastroenterologist at NYU Medical Center and assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine, said it was fortunate that Barbara Bush's operation took place when it did, as perforations require immediate medical attention.

"The most serious complication of an ulcer is a perforation, which is literally a hole in the stomach," Rajapaksa said.

Untreated, these holes can cause acid and other stomach contents to pour into the abdominal cavity. This, in turn, can lead to inflammation, infection and other problems.

"The vast majority of people with ulcers do not need surgery, so certainly this is one of the rare but serious considerations of ulcers," Rajapaksa said.

Dr. Jeffrey Peters, chief of surgery at the University of Rochester Medical Center, agreed. "It is quite serious and most often requires emergency surgery," he said. "In someone her age, it is definitely a life-threatening issue."