NATION : Bush Faces Minor Surgery for Removal of Cyst on Right Hand
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WASHINGTON — President Bush will undergo surgery to remove a mycoid cyst from the middle finger of his right hand, the White House said today. Bush vowed to keep working despite “this awesome burden.”
The President, making light of the minor surgery, said there was no need to make “a federal case out of it.” Asked to raise the finger for a photo, he replied, “Don’t tempt me.”
Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Bush will undergo the procedure--expected to take about an hour--on Friday at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
The cyst, on the end of his finger just below the nail, has troubled Bush for about three years. “It simply has reached the point where it has gotten larger and noticeable,” Fitzwater said.
He said the President, who is left-handed, will be given a local anesthetic and remain awake throughout the procedure. He said there will be a biopsy, although “clinical observation indicates that the cyst is benign.”
“There will of course be a routine pathological examination of the tissue,” Fitzwater said.
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