Steve Jobs may have had a liver transplant (updated)

When Jobs announced that he was leaving Apple for a few months on medical leave there was a lot of speculation that his cancer may have returned. He left in January with an undisclosed medical condition and with it being only days away from his presumable return to the top of Apple reports are surfacing that he had a liver transplant.

According to the Wall Street Journal Jobs had a liver transplant in Tennessee approximately two months ago for reasons that are unknown but it is reported that he is in good health and is on track to return to Apple at the end of June. When Jobs does return he may only work initially part time because of the major surgery.

"William Hawkins, a doctor specializing in pancreatic and gastrointestinal surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., said that the type of slow-growing pancreatic tumor Mr. Jobs had will commonly metastasize in another organ during a patient's lifetime, and that the organ is usually the liver. 'All total, 75% of patients are going to have the disease spread over the course of their life,' said Dr. Hawkins, who has not treated Mr. Jobs."

Apple has fared well without Jobs at the helm with a successful launch of the iPhone 3G S occurring during his absence the company can survive without Jobs making every decision. But, Jobs is a rare breed who is credited with saving Apple and is an excellent businessman who could sell ketchup to a mustard company. We wish Steve the best and hope that he returns soon as we all benefit, Mac and Windows users, from his ideas.

Update:

Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee has stated that they did perform a liver transplant surgery and that his prognosis is excellent. They have also denied that his status level pushed him to the top of the transplant list.

"In a statement posted on its Web site, the hospital said Mr. Jobs had received the organ because he had the most urgent need for a new liver when one became available."

The statement posting on its website, which Jobs gave permission, was a stark contrast to the usual "no comment" mentality. We wish Jobs a speedy recovery and can't wait to see what his presence on stage at the next Apple keynote will bring.