Fauci Recovering After Successful Removal Of Polyp From Vocal Cords

Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, said he was recovering from surgery after the removal of a vocal cord polyp which was likely caused by the numerous lectures and interviews he was required to give as the leading figure in the White House coronavirus task force.

He is expected to be back in action by Aug. 31.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is now resting at home after the outpatient surgery, a spokesperson for the institute told The Associated Press. The leading voice in the nation’s battle against the pandemic, Fauci, provided regular scientific advice to the public through webcasts and media interviews.

The 79-year-old expert said that he plans to go back to work in August end, but might be able to do short interviews in the meantime. His doctors advised him to take proper rest at least for a couple of days, and to limit interviews and speaking engagements for another week or two, The Washington Post reported.

He said that his dozens of interviews and lectures daily may have led to the inflammation that caused the development of the polyp. Fauci had talked about the problem with his vocal cords in the past, though in one interview with NBC News in April, he assured everyone that he is "physically fine" and his raspy voice may have been the product of endless briefings with many people.

"I just need to keep my mouth shut for a little while," Fauci had said.

Last April, while speaking at the Economic Club of Washington, the infectious disease expert explained that when someone’s voice is a bit damaged, which may mean the existence of a polyp, the only way for them to get better is to keep their mouth shut.

According to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, the Chief Medical Correspondent at CNN, Fauci needed to stop talking momentarily. "That's how you rest and recover from vocal cord surgery, or if you do talk, keep it at very limited bursts of speaking," Gupta said. The news about Fauci's surgery was first reported by CNN.

Polyps are abnormal growths that usually appear like tiny, flat bumps or small mushroom-like stems. They usually develop in the colon but can also appear in various areas in the body which include the stomach, uterus, cervix, nose, ear canal, and throat. They are usually around less than half of an inch wide.

Most of these abnormal growths are benign, meaning they are not likely to develop into cancer, although some are malignant or cancerous. Physicians can determine if the growth is a non-cancerous polyp through biopsy, which involves getting a small tissue sample and checking for any presence of cancerous cells.