US First Lady Jill Biden had all cancerous tissue removed on Wednesday after spending time at a military hospital for outpatient surgery, the White House said, according to Reuters.

“All of the cancerous tissue was successfully removed and there were no residual skin cancer cells around the edges,” White House physician Kevin O’Connor said in the letter, adding that no further procedures are planned.

The surgery was performed after a small lesion was recently discovered above the first lady’s right eye during a routine skin cancer screening.

What is the Mohs surgical technique, the method used to operate on Jill Biden

She underwent a procedure known as a Mohs operation to remove the tissue, according to a press release announcing the surgery.

The procedure is also known as Mohs micrographic surgery and involves injecting a local anesthetic and cutting away thin layers of a potentially cancerous lesion without damaging the surrounding healthy skin.

Mohs micrographic surgery is a surgical procedure in which a malignant lesion is removed with a margin of 1 to 2 millimeters of normal skin, followed by pathological evaluation while the patient waits. This test takes about an hour and will tell us if a lesion with clear margins has been removed,” Dr. Vishal Anil Patel, director of cutaneous oncology at George Washington University Cancer Center in Washington, DC, told Healthline.

“If not, the surgeon can determine the exact area where the cancer may remain and remove only that tissue. Once there is confirmation and the tissue is adequately removed, surgical reconstruction can be performed to close the wound with plastic surgery,” explained Patel.

For previously untreated skin cancer, Mohs surgery has a cure rate of up to 99%. For skin cancer that has returned after previous treatment, the cure rate is up to 94%.

The operation was performed at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Jill Biden lost his mother and son to cancer

The first lady lost her mother, Bonnie Jean Jacobs, to lymphoma in 2008 while her husband was running for vice president.

Almost eight years ago, she and the president lost their son, Beau Biden, to glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, when he was 46 years old.

The first lady wrote in her memoirs that Beau’s death shook her so much that she lost her faith in God. In October 2021, she drove 800 miles to South Carolina for a surprise visit with Robin Jackson, the wife of a pastor who she says helped her regain her faith, the Washington Post reported.