Rob Ford's cancer surgery complete, doctors see 'no surprises'

Former Toronto mayor and current city councillor Rob Ford is out of surgery to remove a cancerous abdominal tumour, and it appears that the operation went well.

Ford underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour in his abdomen on Monday.

His chief of staff, Dan Jacobs, said Monday night that the procedure went as expected and there were "no surprises."

Jacobs said that Ford spent about 10 hours under anesthetic.

"There were no new growths, the cancer had not spread beyond whatthey were already aware of, and they were able to remove all the existing growths without causing damageto any internal structures," Jacobs said in a statement shared with reporters.

Jacobs said Ford was in "some pain" after the surgery, but doctors were working to manage it.

'We're very grateful'

Earlier in the evening,the councillor's brother Doug Fordsaid he and his family are grateful for the support they've received from people in the city.

Ford also offered thanks to the staff who have been treating his brother at Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital.

"We're very grateful and we just want to thank everyone for their support," he said.

Following the surgery,Ford is expected to spend time in the post-operative recovery area before being transferred to the surgical stepdown unit.

Ford, who turns 46 later this month, said he expected that he'll spendabout four months recoveringfrom the surgery.

He was diagnosed with cancer last year in the midst of his campaign to be re-elected as mayor.

Ford ended up stepping down from the mayoral race and winning a council seat instead.