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Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen was in intensive care at a hospital Monday to be treated for injuries after he was thrown from his horse while riding with his family a day earlier.
Pillen, 68, was treated at the Nebraska Medical Center Omaha, Nebraskawhere he underwent a medical procedure for an injured spleen he sustained when he was dismounted from his new horse.
Doctors said Pillen’s prognosis is positive despite seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a minor fracture of one vertebra and a minor kidney injury that is expected to heal on its own. He is expected to remain in the hospital for at least another day, but is in stable condition.
The governor underwent a minimally invasive procedure called prophylactic embolization for a spleen injury. Doctors threaded a wire into his arteries near his spleen and inserted coils to stop the bleeding, according to Nebraska Medicine trauma surgeon Hillman Terzian.
NEBRASKA GOV. JIM PILLEN HOSPITALIZED AFTER BEING TAKEN OFF HORSE
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen was in intensive care at a hospital Monday to treat injuries sustained after being thrown from his horse a day earlier. (Getty Images)
Terzian said Pillen did well during the procedure, which kept him under sedation. The operation lasted less than an hour, and Republican Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly served as governor for the time being in a routine transfer of power.
The governor suffered no damage to his nervous system and no signs of injury to his head, neck or spinal canal, Terzian said.
Pillen was motivated to get out of bed and was already walking laps, Terzian said, noting this was “very impressive.”
The doctor said that in intensive care normal for people with a spleen injury similar to Pillen’s and rib fractures at his age. Terzian said the governor has a “very good prognosis.”
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Nebraska Republican Governor Jim Pillen was treated at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. (Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star via AP, File)
“We don’t expect anyone with his injuries to be ready to run a marathon the next day, but we like them to get out of bed, to show us they can pick up small objects, things like that,” Terzian said.
The top priority for Pillen’s doctor right now is getting his pain under control.
No other surgeries are planned, although doctors have options to treat his ribs, Terzian said.
Pillen arranged to work from his hospital room.
The governor’s office said his injuries were serious but not life-threatening and could have been much worse.
Governor Pillen is recovering from seven broken ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a minor fracture of one vertebra and a minor kidney injury that is expected to heal on its own. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
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Pillen was elected governor in 2022, running in that year’s gubernatorial election because former governor Pete Ricketts, also a Republican, was term-limited.
The governor worked as a veterinarian, and before that he was the owner of a livestock factory elected to the highest state office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
