Gilley: Brain surgery stopped onset of dementia

Country singer's long-term memory was affected by disease

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updated 10:41 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2008

BRANSON, Mo. - Mickey Gilley is opening up about a medical condition he's been dealing with the last couple of years. Turns out he's been struggling with dementia. And now he's crediting brain surgery with stopping its onset.

He tells the Branson Daily Independent that he underwent surgery at a hospital in Springfield, Missouri, on July 8th, after suffering more than two years with symptoms of the early stages of dementia. Gilley says the disease affected his short-term memory.

Doctors told him that without surgery he would develop irreversible dementia.

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Gilley has had 17 number 1 hits and is also known for his Texas nightclub that was the setting for the 1980 movie "Urban Cowboy."