Ryan has successful neck surgery for cancer

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twins general manager Terry Ryan underwent successful neck surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., on Tuesday, the club announced.

Ryan, who will remain hospitalized for two or three days, announced Monday that he had been diagnosed with squamous-cell carcinoma in a lymph node in his neck. It came after he underwent his annual physical with Twins team physician Dr. Vijay Eyunni two weeks ago.

Ryan had three doctor appointments at the Mayo Clinic on Monday and went forward with the surgery the next day. Eyunni said Monday that Ryan will also need radiation after the surgery but that chemotherapy is not likely because a PET scan found that the cancer had not spread.

"The only thing the PET scan showed was cancer in his lymph node, so that's really good news," Eyunni said. "So, if you take that lymph node out and dissect around that area, we expect a cure along with the radiation. So with the prognosis at this point, we're very optimistic."

Ryan, 60, will miss the start of Spring Training, and there is no timetable for his return. Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony will work with vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff and special assistant to the GM Wayne Krivsky in Ryan's absence.

"We're just going to work together and try to make the best decisions for the club, and obviously we're going to have a lot of decisions to make in Spring Training," Antony said Monday. "This is a tough time of year, as you put this thing together, but we've done our offseason work for the most part now, and we're going to have to make some decisions. But the players usually make the decisions for us in Spring Training, so we'll move forward."