Condi Rice To Have Minor Surgery

Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's trusted national security adviser who is nominated to be secretary of state, will undergo a minor surgical procedure at Georgetown University Hospital on Friday, a spokesman said.

Sean McCormack said Rice, 50, would remain overnight at the hospital and return to work the next day or so.

Chief White House Correspondent John Roberts has learned Rice is having a uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive procedure to block arteries that supply blood to fibroid tumors, he said.

The procedure involves threading a catheter through an artery into blood vessels that feed the fibroid tumors. Small beads are then passed through the catheter, which blocks the fibroid's blood supply. The fibroids starve and eventually shrink.

Fibroid tumors are benign.

It did not involve cancer or a life-threatening condition, McCormack said. But Rice will be anesthetized for the procedure.

President Bush announced on Tuesday that Rice, currently his national security adviser, will succeed Secretary of State Colin Powell. Her nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.