George Burns ‘Stable’ After Surgery

Comedian George Burns was conscious and in stable condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Tuesday following a two-hour operation to remove fluid from his brain, a hospital spokesman said.

Burns, 98, entered the hospital Monday afternoon and had surgery about 6 p.m. that evening, spokesman Ron Wise said.

“I have no sense of impending disaster,” Wise said, adding that Burns “tolerated the surgery well. . . . With any kind of luck he’ll be out of here in a week.”

Burns had been flown to Cedars-Sinai for observation on July 13 immediately after a fall in a bathtub in his Las Vegas home, which had required two stitches for a cut. He was released from the hospital then, but his speech was slurred as a result of the accident and the slurring worsened recently, according to Burns’ manager, Irving Fein.

The fluid had gathered above Burns’ brain as a esult of the fall, Wise said, and the surgery was designed to relieve pressure on the brain.

Fein said Burns has canceled engagements in Connecticut from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, and a luncheon at the Plaza Hotel in New York.

Burns commemorated his 98th birthday with sellout shows Jan. 20-23 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, receiving standing ovations as he traced his 91-year career.