McCaskill to Undergo Surgery

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill will undergo knee surgery Tuesday at the Missouri Bone and Joint Center in St. Louis.

It's a procedure that could put her on crutches for a month.

McCaskill will have her right knee replaced, according to communications director Adrianne Marsh. "It's a genetic problem. Her mother had both knees replaced, so did her sister," Marsh tells the KY3 Political Notebook.

Marsh said doctors have told McCaskill to expect to stay in bed for a week to recover from the surgery.

"When they told her that, she laughed and said, 'I'll be out the next day,'" Marsh said.

Marsh said McCaskill's knee problems go as far back as her run for Governor in 2004. She said after the '06 campaign, it got to the point where it irritated the Senator too much to go on without treatment.

Marsh said that Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow has offered McCaskill a hideway in the Capitol near the Senate floor temporarily so McCaskill won't have to spend as much time on her feet walking back and forth between buildings.

"It makes it easier for her to work and have close access to the floor for votes," Marsh said.

*An unrelated sidenote . . . McCaskill will appear on "Imus in the Morning," Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m. central time to talk about her legislation regarding the problems uncovered at Walter Reed hospital.