Giffords to undergo surgery, while the husband is in space

HOUSTON - recovery of the Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is not slow down while her astronaut husband accelerates around the Earth.

Giffords will undergo surgery Wednesday for physicians can replace a piece of his skull with a plastic implant, another encouraging step since the Congress of Arizona was shot in the head more than four months ago.

Surgery - from a few days only after Giffords went to Florida to watch her husband, Mark Kelly, launch into space - The Associated Press confirmed by two familiar people with care for the Member of Congress. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not been officially published.

Doctors removed a piece of skull of the Giffords to allow room for Brain swelling shortly after a potential assassin bullet him in the head on 8 January, critical wounding him, killing six people and wounding 12 others at an event in his hometown of TucsonAriz

Democratic three-term Congress member was wearing a helmet decorated with a flag of State of Arizona. Doctors said when she arrived in Houston in late January, they hoped to make cranial surgery in May.

Dr. Richard Riggs, holder of the Chair of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Cedars - Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said the surgery to place the plastic implant is relatively simple. Recovery is short - a day or two at most - and is mainly against the effects of anesthesia, he said.

"This gives his quality of life because she won't have to worry about the helmet and protection when moving autour," said Riggs, who is not involved in the care of the Giffords.

The implant is placed under the scalp, allowing the hair to grow on top, so it is not visible. Riggs said the piece of skull probably deleted physicians has been contaminated or destroyed by the bullet which pierced the left side of the brain of the Giffords. That would the skull unfit to be attached, that is why doctors would implant, said Riggs.

Chief of staff of the Giffords, Pia Carusone, refused to comment on whether Giffords suffer surgery Wednesday. The Giffords physicians do comment on her condition without the approval of his family.

Giffords returns to Houston and rehab late Monday after watching the launch of the shuttle to her husband in Florida. When the space shuttle Endeavour five Americans and an Italian descended soil Monday, Giffords has been in private a wheelchair on the roof of the Centre for control of launch and noticed, "good stuff, good stuff", according to his staff.

That Giffords would watch the shuttle launch seems unlikely a little more than four months ago. And some patients do not have this type of surgery until after their discharge from hospital.

His doctors have said she has made remarkable progress in what will be a long recovery.

The next step will be to his removal from the hospital. And then it will continue speech, occupational and physiotherapy in an outpatient clinic.