Mahony to Remain in Hospital a Few More Days

A small blood clot that sent Cardinal Roger M. Mahony to the hospital has been dissolved and he should be discharged within several days, his office said Monday.

Mahony, 62, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, was hospitalized Friday after experiencing a series of sharp pains in the lower right rib cage. Doctors found a blood clot in his right lung, said Father Gregory Coiro, spokesman for the archdiocese.

Coiro said Monday that Mahony was awakened from sleep Thursday night by the pain. “Any position he lay in was painful,” Coiro said. “If he stood up or sat up he didn’t feel the pain. The next afternoon [Friday] when it happened again he called his doctor and his doctor said to go to the hospital,” Coiro said. His personal physician, Dr. Lee Parsons, met him.

The archdiocese disclosed the presence of an unspecified blood clot Saturday. At the time, Coiro said the appearance of a blood clot after a major surgery is not uncommon. Mahony underwent successful surgery for prostate cancer June 15. However, any clot is potentially dangerous. Prompt action to dissolve it usually avoids a medical crisis.

Coiro called the developments “excellent news.” But he said Mahony will remain hospitalized for several days as a routine precaution to make sure his blood thinning medication is “balanced.”

Coiro said Mahony remains in good spirits. The archdiocese has declined to identify the hospital to avoid a deluge of well-wishers swamping the switchboard with telephone calls, Coiro said.