Jill Biden to Have Lesion Above Right Eye Removed

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 11, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- First Lady Jill Biden is scheduled to have surgery Wednesday morning to have a lesion removed from above her right eye.

The lesion was discovered during routine skin cancer screening, the president's physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor said in a Jan. 4 memo posted on Twitter.

Biden, 71, will have a “common outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery to remove and definitively examine the tissue,” O'Connor added.

Doctors recommended the procedure “in an abundance of caution,” he said.

President Joe Biden accompanied the first lady to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where the surgery will be performed.

The surgery typically involves removing thin layers of skin and examining each layer for cancer, continuing until there are no signs of cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic. The procedure typically takes less than four hours, the Associated Press reported.

The delicate skin around the eyes is particularly vulnerable to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

The Bidens had just returned from Mexico City on Tuesday. While the president held two days of talks with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, the first lady met with other groups, including women and children, and her counterparts, the AP reported.

This is the second time the White House has announced an outpatient medical procedure for Jill Biden, the AP reported. Previously that happened in April 2021 with a procedure that was described at the time as “common.”

An update on Jill Biden’s condition was expected later Wednesday, the AP said.

More information

The Skin Cancer Foundation has more on Mohs surgery.

SOURCE: Associated Press