WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is missing oral arguments as she recovers at home from lung surgery.
According to Chief Justice John Roberts, Ginsburg did not attend oral arguments, but will participate in the cases and rulings by using the briefs and oral arguments, Reuters reported.
Ginsburg underwent a pulmonary lobectomy on Dec. 21 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to remove two cancerous nodules in her left lung and was released from the hospital on Christmas Day.
According to Health, the procedure removes one-half to one-third of the lung. The lung tissue removed does not regenerate, but the upper portion of the lungs helps to compensate.
According to Raja Flores, MD, chair of thoracic surgery for Mount Sinai Health System and director of the thoracic surgical oncology program at the Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai taking to Health, it can take patients anywhere from a few weeks to three months to recover from a pulmonary lobectomy.
Patients are trained practice deep breathing and coughing exercises to help the lungs re-expand post-operation. Some may also need additional oxygen while recovering in the hospital.
This was Ginsburg's third cancer diagnosis. She broke three ribs in a November fall, which led physicians to discover the cancer in her lung.
According to a statement from the Supreme Court, there is currently no signs of any cancer in Ginsburg's body and that no further treatment is needed at this time.