George H.W. Bush: Mucoid Cyst on Finger

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	The Health and Medical History of President
	George H.W. Bush: Mucoid Cyst on Finger

mucoid cyst

A one centimeter mucoid cyst on the "third digit [sic] on the middle finger" of Bush's right hand was surgically removed under local anesthesia at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Oct. 6, 1989 [11h]. (The "third digit" reference perhaps means third phalanx.)

A "sebaceous cyst" on the third finger of his right hand had been drained at the time of his physical five months earlier. The cyst, undoubtedly the same as the one removed, had been present for many years [11a].

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The complete text of the corresponding press release [11] is given below.

Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Hand Surgery
October 6, 1989

President Bush underwent minor surgery today at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to remove a mucoid cyst of approximately one centimeter in diameter from the third digit on the middle finger of his right hand. The procedure, which started at 1:35 p.m., took approximately 25 minutes and was entirely successful. A pathological examination of the cyst is underway, but Dr. Burton Lee, the President's Physician, said the cyst appeared benign.

The digital nerve block anesthesia, a form of local anesthesia, is expected to wear off within 3 to 4 hours following the surgery. Pain medication will be prescribed as necessary.

The incision was approximately 1 ¹/₂ inches long, along the top of the finger. Eight stitches were required to close the incision, which will be removed in approximately 2 weeks. No long-term impairment of movement in the finger is expected.

The operation was performed by Dr. Allan Smith, a colonel in the Army Medical Corps and chief of hand surgery at Walter Reed, and Dr. George Bogumill, chief of hand surgery at Georgetown University. Digital nerve block anesthesia was administered by Dr. Charles Gandy of Walter Reed, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Medical Corps. White House Physicians Dr. Burton Lee and Dr. Lawrence Mohr, a colonel in the Army Medical Corps, were in attendance throughout the procedure.

The President will wear a splint on the finger for 2 to 3 weeks. Dr. Allan Smith will visit the President at the White House Tuesday, October 10, for a followup examination.

Resources

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Abrams, Herbert L. "The President Has Been Shot": Confusion, Disability, and the 25th Amendment in the Aftermath of the Attempted Assassination of Ronald Reagan. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992. ISBN 0-393-03042-3 @ Amazon
Associated Press. [no title]. Yahoo! News [on-line]. 3 August 2002, 1:40 pm ET.
Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994. ISBN 0-89950-956-8 @ Amazon [a] p. 288 [b] p. 289 [c] p. 290 [d] pp. 289-291
Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.
Ebner SA, Badonnel MC, Altman LK, Braverman LE. Conjugal Graves disease. Ann Intern Med. 1992 Mar 15;116(6):479-81. Pubmed.
Heimel, Cynthia. Combover Congress: how can we trust our leaders to manage impeachment when they can't even manage their hair?. Salon.com. Feb. 3, 1999.
Caveat emptor: no written source for these statements is known to Dr. Zebra. Available on the web at: http://www.salon.com/news/1999/02/03newsb.html
Jaret, Peter. Blinking and thinking. In Health. July/August 1990; 4(4): 36-37.
Mathews J. The shrinking field. Washington Post. August 3, 1999. Page C1.
Accessed through washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/tall080399.htm
Springer, Brian. Spin. [Movie, 1995]. Accessed 6 July 2006.
This movie is largely composed of clips from 1992 television satellite feeds. These feeds are usually not broadcast in their entirety. For example, satellite feeds can include recordings made during commercial breaks or before a show starts. With the proper equipment, anyone can pick up satellite feeds (although they may be encrypted). 57 minutes 26 seconds. Movie accessed at: http://www.brasscheck.com/videos/spin.html
The Thyroid Society. Graves' disease: the heart of the matter. [On line]. Accessed 16 December 2002.
See: http://the-thyroid-society.org/graves.html
Toltzis RJ, Morton DJ, Gerson MC. Problems on Pennsylvania Avenue. N Engl J Med. 1986 Sep 25;315(13):836-7. Pubmed.
White House Press Release. [various topics]. George H.W. Bush Public Papers. (Kept in the Bush Presidential Library, College Station, TX). [a] Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the Results of the President's Physical Examination, May 10, 1989 [b] Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Physical Examination, May 9, 1989 [c] Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Physical Examination, April 12, 1990 [d] Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Physical Examination, March 27, 1991 [e] Question-and-Answer Session With Reporters in Bethesda, Maryland, March 27 1991 [f] Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Health, August 2, 1991 [g] Statements by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Physical Examination, March 26, 1992 [h] Statement by Press Secretary Fitzwater on the President's Hand Surgery, October 6, 1989
Downloaded 26-27 November 03 from: http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/papers/
The George Bush web page at the White House.
(6 matches when checked in November 2003)

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