Court Battles

Ginsburg discharged from hospital after nonsurgical procedure

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from the hospital Friday after undergoing a “minimally invasive” nonsurgical procedure earlier this week.

“She is home and doing well,” Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in a statement.

Ginsburg, 87, underwent a procedure Wednesday to revise a bile duct stent that was placed last August. Her doctors at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City said such procedures were “common occurrences” done to “minimize the risk of future infection.”

Ginsburg, the leader of the court’s liberal wing, has faced a number of health problems since being appointed to the Supreme Court by former President Clinton in 1993.

This latest development comes just weeks after Ginsburg announced a recurrence of liver cancer. It also marks the third time in three months that she has been hospitalized, including earlier this month to treat an infection after experiencing fever and chills. In May she was hospitalized to remove gallstones.

Ginsburg revealed weeks ago that she has been undergoing chemotherapy for liver cancer since May. She said the treatment has been “yielding positive results” and that she is able to perform her court duties with “full steam.”

“My most recent scan on July 7 indicated significant reduction of the liver lesions and no new disease,” she said in a July 17 statement. “I am tolerating chemotherapy well and am encouraged by the success of my current treatment. I will continue bi-weekly chemotherapy to keep my cancer at bay, and am able to maintain an active daily routine.”

It is the fifth time Ginsburg has been treated for cancer. She had declared in January that she was cancer-free months after completing treatment for a malignant tumor on her pancreas the previous summer.