Send your get-well wishes to Seve

Seve Ballesteros is in a stable condition after undergoing 12 hours of surgery yesterday to remove a brain tumour.

Doctors, who were scheduled only to perform a biopsy, took the decision to operate on the flamboyant Spanish golfer at Madrid's La Paz hospital because of the seriousness of the situation, Marca, the Spanish sports newspaper, reported.

The operation was said have been "satisfactory".

"The patient Severiano Ballesteros yesterday underwent a surgical operation performed by the medical team of the Neurosurgery Service of the La Paz Hospital," the hospital said in a statement.

"The operation, aimed at removing a brain tumour, began at 9am and ended without complications.

"The patient will spend a post-operative period in the intensive care unit. He is currently conscious and in stable condition, although he cannot receive visits in the coming days until he recovers from the surgery."

It said the next medical procedure would be undertaken when he is able to leave the intensive care unit, probably next week.

Ballesteros, 51, was admitted to hospital on October 6 after suffering dizziness and a brief loss of consciousness at Madrid airport.

Brain Tumour UK warned before the operation that Ballesteros could be in grave danger, stating that adults of his age group and showing his initial symptoms are "likely to have a primary tumour affecting the temporal or parietal lobe at the front of the brain".

The organisation said: "It is most likely to be a grade four astrocytoma called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) ... which account for more than half of all primary tumours in adults and can be extremely aggressive, often growing back within a few weeks of surgery.

Glioblastoma patients survive for around 11 months on average, although a small number survive for five and even ten years."

The Spaniard, who won five majors including three Opens, confirmed the illness last Thursday and said he was ready to “confront the most difficult match of his life”.

Ballesteros won 87 titles during his career, including the Open in 1979, 1984 and 1988 and the Masters in 1980 and 1983. He also played an inspirational role in the Ryder Cup, winning 20 points from 37 matches, as well as captaining Europe to victory at Valderrama in 1997.

Carmen Botin, Ballesteros's ex-wife, and his three children were at the hospital while the surgery was performed, Marca said.