Today in Chicago history: Cardinal undergoes surgery

Doctors consider cardinal's spinal surgery routine
Procedure to ease chronic pain

The spinal surgery Joseph Cardinal Bernardin is scheduled to undergo next month is fairly common, and any long-lasting adverse effects are unlikely, medical experts said Tuesday.. The procedure, called decompression laminectomy, will help alleviate pain in his lower back and legs, said Dr. Alexander Ghanayem, chief of the division of spine surgery at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.

(Sun-Times, August 7, 1996)