Stones deny Keith Richards suffered brain damage

Keith Richards

LOS ANGELES - Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has not suffered brain damage, a spokeswoman for the band said today.

The Stones' New York-based publicist, Fran Curtis, issued a statement denying a report in the New Zealand Herald that Richards, 62, had undergone two surgeries and that doctors were concerned about brain damage.

"Keith Richards did not undergo a second operation. The first and only operation was done on Monday, May 8, and was 100 per cent successful," the band's statement said. "There was no brain damage. He continues to improve as expected."

The European leg of the band's "A Bigger Bang" world tour would begin in June, the statement said.

The hard-living Richards, a founding member and mainstay of the band with lead singer Mick Jagger since the Stones formed in the early 1960s, has been in Auckland under medical observation and treatment since taking a fall while on vacation in the island resort of Fiji in late April.

Last week, a spokeswoman for the band said Richards had suffered only a mild concussion and would not need surgery.

But the band issued a statement on Monday acknowledging that after complaining of headaches, he had undergone "a small operation to remove the pressure."

Late last month, a New York spokesperson for Richards and The Rolling Stones said he had suffered mild concussion in Fiji.

He was treated locally and as a precaution flew to a hospital in New Zealand accompanied by his wife Patti for observation.

Yesterday, two of his children rushed to his bedside at the Ascot Hospital in Auckland.

Theodora, 21, and Alexandra, 19, arrived amid growing and conflicting reports about his condition after he was taken back to the hospital on Sunday.

Reports indicated a craniotomy on Monday relieved pressure. A craniotomy involves drilling or cutting into the skull to remove pressure on the brain.

Ascot Hospital in Auckland declined comment on the report.

- REUTERS, NZPA