Ruth Bader Ginsburg Recovering After Hospitalization for Gallbladder Treatment

By Jordan Moreau

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is “resting comfortably” after she was hospitalized and treated for a gallbladder condition on Tuesday, according to the Supreme Court.

The 87-year-old justice had non-surgical treatment for acute cholecystitis, a benign gallbladder inflammation, at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. After the Supreme Court’s oral arguments on Monday, Ginsburg had outpatient tests at the Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., where they confirmed she had a gallstone that was blocking her cystic duct, causing an infection.

Luckily, the treatment was successful enough for Ginsburg to be able to part in the court’s arguments by phone on Wednesday morning. She expects to stay in the hospital for one or two more days, according to the Supreme Court.

Ginsburg has had several health scares in her long career, including four treatments for cancer. Her most recent was in August, where she had a tumor in her pancreas treated with radiation. She was also hospitalized in November with chills and a fever.

In December of 2018, the justice had a lung surgery to remove several cancerous growths. The procedure caused her to miss the very first court arguments in her career since she became a justice in 1993.

The popular justice had two films about her come out in 2018: “RBG” and “On the Basis of Sex.” Both received favorable reviews from audiences and critics, and “RBG” received Oscar nominations for best documentary and best original song.