U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes did not undergo a minor surgical procedure as planned last week because of complications with the anesthesia, a spokesman said yesterday.

Sarbanes, 69, remained yesterday at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was admitted Thursday morning to have a benign growth removed from his parotid, or salivary, gland, said spokesman Jesse Jacobs. When doctors on Thursday administered anesthesia to Sarbanes, it caused his blood pressure to increase, Jacobs said.

"It caused enough concern with the medical professionals there that they did not go through with the procedure," Jacobs said. "They stabilized him, brought his blood pressure down, and that's where we are right now. He's doing fine."

Jacobs said Sarbanes is expected to be released in a few days and should be home for Christmas. He will be discharged without having the surgery, Jacobs said, which could be rescheduled.

"He is comfortably well," Jacobs said. "I talked to him before he had his breakfast this morning, and he was asking what was in the paper, both about himself and in general. He's in good spirits."

Sarbanes, a Baltimore resident, was elected to the Senate in 1976 and serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. A Salisbury native, he served four years in the Maryland House of Delegates and six years in Congress before he was elected to the Senate.

Jacobs said the surgery had been scheduled for Thursday to avoid disrupting Sarbanes' schedule.

"It was an opportune time, following the election and following the close of Congress," Jacobs said. "There was a little bit of down time before the start of the next Congress."