President Donald Trump said Melania Trump was “doing really well” Tuesday following kidney surgery, adding that the first lady was expected to leave the hospital in the next few days.
“Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!” he tweeted.
The first lady underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition on Monday morning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, her office said.
“The procedure was successful, and there were no complications,” the first lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement, adding that Trump would likely remain at Walter Reed “for the duration of the week.”
Though the President remained at the White House during the surgery, he traveled to the hospital in Marine One in the evening, where he visited with his wife for over an hour.
Melania Trump, who turned 48 last month, had been experiencing an issue with her kidney that her office described as benign but requiring medical attention.
She is the first US first lady to undergo such a serious medical procedure while in the White House since Nancy Reagan had a mastectomy in October 1987. Rosalynn Carter underwent surgery to remove a benign lump from her breast in April 1977. Weeks after Betty Ford became first lady, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy in September 1974.
