White House Shares Health Update on First Lady Jill Biden Ahead of Surgical Procedure

The First Lady is scheduled for an outpatient procedure later this month.

First Lady Jill Biden is set to undergo a minor surgical procedure for potential skin cancer, the White House has announced.

Vanessa Valdivia, press secretary to the First Lady, announced the news via Twitter on Jan. 4.

"During a routine skin cancer screening, a small lesion was found above the First Lady’s right eye," she wrote, alongside a scan of a formal notice from the White House. "Memo here from Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Physician to the President, with more information on the First Lady’s upcoming outpatient procedure to have it removed and examined."

The memo revealed that the doctors recommended it be removed "in an abundance of caution," without formally declaring it cancerous.

The removal will take place on Jan. 11 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. "...the First Lady will undergo a common outpatient procedure known as Mohs surgery to remove and definitively examine the tissue," the memo continued, going on to promise more updates to come after the procedure is complete, or if anything changes with the treatment plan.

According to Johns Hopkins, a Mohs procedure is an incredibly precise technique for multiple types of skin cancer, which involves removing a single layer at a time and observing it under a microscope to confirm when the cancer has been completely removed, and preserve as much healthy tissue as possible.

If reconstruction is required, it can often be done immediately following the completion of the procedure, depending on the width and depth of the lesion removed.

Many Twitter users took the opportunity to wish the First Lady well in the procedure and cross their fingers for benign tissue and a quick recovery. Others took the opportunity to remind others to get their skin checked regularly, as it was a doctor's keen eye on a regular dermatology appointment that spotted the slight abnormality in the first place.