Sen. John McCain's recovery is now a major factor in the GOP health-care debate

Sen. John McCain talks health-care legilsation
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced Saturday that he is recovering at home from surgery to remove a blood clot above his left eye, prompting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday to postpone a vote on the newest version of his health-care overhaul. Two of the 52 Republican senators — Susan Collins (Maine) and Rand Paul (Ky.) — have said they will vote no on the bill as currently written, meaning McConnell can't lose another Republican and pass the bill. Collins said Sunday on ABC's This Week that eight to 10 other GOP senators have "deep concerns" about the bill.

A key question for the bill's future, then, is when McCain will return to the Senate. The statement from McCain's office suggested he would be out only this week, but its explanation for the procedure — removal of a blood clot from "above his left eye" during a "minimally invasive craniotomy with an eyebrow incision" — prompted some medical experts contacted by The New York Times to suggest he could be out of longer than expected, depending on the specifics. A craniotomy is when surgeons open the skull, and the recovery time from such an operation "is usually a few weeks," said Dr. Nrupen Baxi, a neurosurgeon at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.