Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz Recovering from Emergency Brain Surgery

While the rest of the Miami-Dade County Commission is waiting on the results of today's mayoral and commission seat special elections, Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz is dealing with far more serious things. Diaz, who has served on the commissioner since 2002, underwent emergency brain surgery yesterday to remove a tumor...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

May 24, 2011

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While the rest of the Miami-Dade County Commission is waiting on the results of today's mayoral and commission seat special elections, Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz is dealing with far more serious things. Diaz, who has served on the commissioner since 2002, underwent emergency brain surgery yesterday to remove a tumor.

Diaz had been complaining about intense head aches for months now. According to The Miami Herald, a CAT scan back in February turned up nothing, but the pain continued. Yesterday, Diaz decided to seek a second opinion from a good friend: Dr. Sergio Gonzalez-Arias, chief of neurological surgery at Baptist Hospital. In fact, Diaz only went to the hospital to visit a family member on Friday, but decided to bring the results from his original CAT scan just to have the doctor double check them.

Gonzalez-Arias saw evidence of brain swelling. An MRI scan detected a one-inch tumor on Diaz's right cerebellum, and started preparing the commissioner for emergency surgery to remove the mass that was preformed Monday.

Gonzalez-Arias expects the tumor to be benign, and says the commissioner should recover quickly. Though, Diaz is expected to spend the next four days in the hospital.

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