Surgeons removed a cancerous lesion above first lady Jill Biden’s right eye Wednesday, as well as another cancerous lesion on her chest, the White House said, according to The Associated Press.
A third lesion on her left eyelid is being examined, the statement added.
Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, said examinations showed that the lesion over Biden’s left eye and one newly discovered on her chest were both confirmed to be basal cell carcinoma. The lesion on her right eye was “fully excised, with margins, and was sent for standard microscopic examination.”
Biden and her husband, President Joe Biden, spent the day at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, while she underwent the scheduled outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery to remove and examine the lesions.
O’Connor said the first lady was “experiencing some facial swelling and bruising, but is in good spirits and is feeling well.” She was expected to return to the White House Wednesday evening.
Earlier, the first lady’s office said her surgery was “proceeding well and as expected.”
Her office announced a week ago that doctors had discovered the lesion during a recent routine skin cancer screening. She was to have a “common outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery to remove and definitively examine the tissue,” said Dr. Kevin O’Connor, the president’s physician, in a Jan. 4 memo that the first lady’s office released last week.
In April 2021, the first lady underwent a medical procedure that the White House described only as “common.” Details were not provided.
Biden also accompanied the first lady to Walter Reed in July 2021 for outpatient treatment after she punctured her left foot while walking on a beach in Hawaii.