President Joe Biden had a cancerous skin lesion successfully removed from his chest, Physician to the President Kevin O’Connor said Friday.
The tissue was removed Feb. 16 as a part of the president’s annual physical, and was sent in for traditional biopsy. (RELATED: Biden Undergoes Physical Examination, Is Deemed ‘Fit For Duty’ After Skin Biopsy)
“As expected, the biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma. All cancerous tissue was successfully removed,” O’Connor said in a statement.
“The area around the biopsy site was treated presumptively with electrodessication and curettage at the time of the biopsy,” O’Connor added, noting that Biden will require “no further treatment.”
The site of the biopsy “healed nicely” and Biden will continue “dermatologic surveillance” going forward as a part of his healthcare,” O’Connor said.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 16: U.S. President Joe Biden walks to the Oval Office on the South Lawn of the White House after exiting Marine One February 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. Biden spent the morning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for his annual physical health exam. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
First lady Jill Biden underwent surgery to remove a “small lesion” above her eye in January.
Biden’s February physical examination lasted approximately three hours, after which O’Connor deemed the oldest president in U.S. history “fit for duty.”
“The President remains fit for duty, and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations,” O’Connor wrote the day of the examination.
The president’s examinations included optometry, dentistry, an exam of his feet, ankle end spine, podiatry, physical therapy, neurology, cardiology, radiology and dermatology.
On the neurological basis, “there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or or ascending lateral sclerosis,” O’Connor wrote.