U.S.

Minor Surgery For Ford

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

August 2, 2000 / 7:43 AM EDT / CBS

Doctors declared former President Gerald Ford completely recovered Saturday from a small stroke, and performed surgery to correct an abscess in his mouth.

Ford's tongue had been painfully swollen for several days, but it quickly returned to normal size after Saturday's operation, said Dr. Richard Hayden, chief of the ear, nose and throat department at Hahnemann University Hospital.

"His comfort level is markedly improved and his speech has come back," Hayden said at an afternoon news conference.

The 87-year-old former president also was fully recovered from the small stroke he suffered Monday night after attending the Republican National Convention, said Dr. Robert Schwartzman, chief of neurology at the hospital.

Ford had complained of a swollen tongue since before his trip to Philadelphia.

The abscess was caused by a normally innocuous agent in the mouth called actimomycosis. Doctors called the bacterial infection "extremely rare."

Ford, in Philadelphia to attend the Republican National Convention, went to the hospital Tuesday complaining of pain on the right side of his face and on his tongue.

Doctors at Hahnemann, the hospital designated by the Secret Service to handle presidents with stroke symptoms, treated Ford for an acute sinus infection and released him after about a half-hour.

At Tuesday night's convention session, Ford was honored along with former Republican Presidents George Bush and Ronald Reagan for his role in the country's and the GOP's success. Ford waved approvingly to the crowd, but his eyes appeared drawn.

Ford's children said they worried something was wrong when they saw him look sluggish and sick on television at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night. He was hospitalized hours later.

The former president was scheduled to fly back to his Colorado home Wednesday morning, but instead returned to the hospital around 9 a.m., complaining of headaches. Doctors said he had suffered one or two minor strokes.