Denver surgeons said they will remove a tennis ball-sized section of lung from Atlanta attorney Andrew Speaker, the air traveler who set off a worldwide scare when it was revealed that he carries an extremely drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.

Removing the damaged lung tissue that contains most of the bacteria responsible for Speaker’s TB will allow antibiotics to be more effective and eliminate the damaged tissue that serves as a breeding ground for the bacteria, surgeons said.

“Andrew Speaker is an excellent candidate for surgery,” Dr. Charles Daley of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center said in a statement released by the hospital. “The infected area of his lung is relatively small and well-contained. He is also young and otherwise healthy.”

The surgery will be performed in July by Dr. John D. Mitchell at the University of Colorado Hospital’s Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. The exact date has not yet been set.

Speaker’s May trip to Europe to be married triggered an uproar because of his form of the disease, which is very difficult to cure with antibiotics alone.

Health authorities have been searching for passengers who sat near him on his flights to and from Europe to test them for the disease. Speaker proved to be relatively noninfectious, however, and so far, none have been found to have contracted it.

To elude authorities, Speaker flew from Europe to Canada on his return, then drove across the border into the United States. The unidentified border agent who allowed him to enter the country despite an alert retired earlier this week after being suspended from his duties.

After Speaker turned himself in to health authorities, he was transferred to National Jewish because of the hospital’s expertise in dealing with the rare disease, known as extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR TB.

Dr. Mitchell will attempt a minimally invasive surgery to remove the right upper lobe of Speaker’s lung. If that doesn’t work, he will finish the job using open chest surgery.

Recovery will take about three to six days if the surgery is minimally invasive, and somewhat longer if his chest has to be opened, the hospital said.

Speaker will most likely stay at the Aurora hospital for three to six days, then return to National Jewish where he has been kept in isolation.

Many patients who have had the surgery in the past have become culture-negative afterward and have been able to return home within a month, the hospital said.

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Surgeons to operate on patient with drug-resistant TB

Denver surgeons said they will remove a tennis ball-sized section of lung from Atlanta attorney Andrew Speaker, the air traveler who set off a worldwide scare when it was revealed that he carries an extremely drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.