ALTIMORE - The growth removed from Tipper Gore's thyroid was benign, her surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medical Center said yesterday.
Mrs. Gore, the wife of Vice President Al Gore, underwent surgery Tuesday to remove a nodule discovered on the right side of her thyroid gland. She was released on Wednesday.
''Mrs. Gore does not have cancer,'' Dr. Robert Udelsman said yesterday. The operation included the removal of part of her thyroid gland. The growth was probably a follicular adenoma of the gland, he said.
Udelsman said it is unlikely that Mrs. Gore will need thyroid hormone replacement but her thyroid hormone levels would be monitored.
''We have no reason to suspect that this will ever come back,'' he said.
The thyroid gland, located in the neck, produces hormones that regulate the body's metabolism. The growth was discovered after Mrs. Gore, 51, sought treatment for an exercise-related injury.
