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Tipper Gore released from hospital
December 29, 1999 WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Tipper Gore, accompanied by Vice President Al Gore, was discharged from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Wednesday, a day after she had surgery to remove a nodule from her thyroid gland. The Gores made no comment when they left the hospital on their way to the vice president's residence at the Naval Observatory. They will decide later whether to remain there or resume their holiday stay at the Gore family home in Carthage, Tennessee. Doctors removed a nodule that was found on Mrs. Gore's thyroid during a routine medical examination. The nodule, or lump, will be tested to see if it is cancerous. Results of the post-operative biopsy won't be known for about a week, her office said. Mrs. Gore was described by spokeswoman Camille Johnston as "alert and resting comfortably" following the surgery. Mrs. Gore's office said she underwent a right thyroid lobectomy, a procedure the hospital described as precautionary after earlier diagnostic tests were deemed inconclusive. The "surgery was performed without complications," her surgeon Robert Udelsman said. "Final pathologic review of the specimen is pending and will be available next week." Mrs. Gore plans to take a week off to fully recover from the surgery, which took just over two hours. The vice president is to return to the campaign trail Monday in Iowa. The surgery was recommended as a "precautionary measure" after the nodule was discovered during an examination for a chronic neck injury that she has checked from time to time, Johnston said. She said there are no symptoms of a thyroid condition and her thyroid hormone levels are "perfectly normal." The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland located in the front of the neck just below the Adam's apple. It produces hormones that regulate metabolism and influence the specific functions of organs throughout the body. Thyroid nodules can be cancerous, although there is no indication that Mrs. Gore's nodule is malignant. The majority of such growths turn out to be benign. According to Johns Hopkins' Web site, thyroid nodules are lumps that commonly arise within the gland. At least one in 15 women and one in 60 men in the United States have a thyroid nodule. These nodules are usually clumps of thyroid cells that are growing abnormally within the gland. Thyroid nodules may also be cysts, fluid-filled cavities, or swellings caused by thyroid inflammation. CNN medical correspondent Steve Salvatore said the nodules usually appear without symptoms, like Mrs. Gore's. However, he said the symptoms that are associated with thyroid nodules include tenderness in the thyroid area, ear or jaw pain, difficulty or discomfort swallowing, a tickling feeling in the throat and shortness of breath with exertion because the nodule may be compressing the windpipe. Salvatore said there are certain characteristics that would raise a doctor's suspicion of a nodules, including rapid growth, associated hoarseness, coughing up blood and a lack of tenderness around the nodule. Doctors will also want to know if the patient has had a history of neck X-rays as a child. Typically, nodules are tested via a biopsy or an ultrasound scan, but surgery is often utilized because the other tests are not 100 percent accurate, Salvatore said. Earlier this month, the vice president, the front-runner for the Democratic 2000 presidential nomination, released medical records that showed he is in good health. CNN's Chris Black contributed to this report. |
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MORE STORIES:Wednesday, December 29, 1999
• Clinton's dual New Year's Eve role: host, Y2K overseer • Lewinsky to become Jenny Craig poster child • Tipper Gore released from hospital • McCain backs better schools, temporary workers in meeting with Hispanics • Bauer calls for easing of CIA restrictions • Reform Party splinters over convention, ideology, court action • For politicians, shaking hands is tough, grimy work • Forbes would do more to find illegal Internet sites • White House proposes $690 million for new housing vouchers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
