Since COVID-19 first hit the U.S., Dr. Anthony Fauci has been at the forefront of the federal government’s crisis response team. Now, however, it seems Fauci is in the midst of a health crisis of his own.
Breitbart reported Thursday that Fauci, who has long served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had just undergone surgery to remove a polyp from his vocal cords.
He’s doing OK
According to Breitbart, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta confirmed the details of Fauci’s condition in a Thursday morning tweet.
“Dr. Anthony Fauci had an operation today to remove a polyp on his vocal cord,” Gupta wrote. “He had general anesthesia and texted me after to let me know he was doing OK. Doctors have advised him to curtail his talking for a while to allow his vocal cords to recover.”
Breitbart noted that Fauci seemed to know this was coming. “I probably have a polyp there — the only way to get better is to keep your mouth shut. But that’s not in the cards right now,” he suggested at a virtual event last spring, according to Breitbart.
The breakdown
Fauci is indeed known for speaking with a raspy voice, something that the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) says can be a symptom of vocal cord polyps.
“Polyps can be on one or both of the vocal folds,” the organization’s website explains. “They may look like a swollen spot or bump, a blister, or a thin, long growth.
“Most polyps are bigger than nodules,” ASHA adds. “You may hear them called polypoid degeneration or Reinke’s edema. It may be easiest to think of a nodule as a callous and a polyp as a blister.”
Polyps are reportedly often brought on by yelling, loud singing, or excessive talking, but can also be caused by cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, allergies, and thyroid problems.
Fauci in the news
In addition to his headline-worthy surgery, Fauci has also been in the news recently for his remarks on the 2020 election. Much to Democrats’ dismay, the face of President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force told ABC News last week that he sees “no reason” Americans can’t vote in-person this year, provided that certain precautions are taken.
“I think if carefully done, according to the guidelines, there’s no reason that I can see why that not be the case,” Fauci said, according to Fox News. “If you go and wear a mask, if you observe the physical distancing, and don’t have a crowded situation, there’s no reason why shouldn’t be able to do that.”
His comments seemed to crush Dems’ hopes of conducting an election entirely by mail this November, a practice President Trump has warned against as recently as this week. “This is going to be the greatest scam in history,” Trump told Fox’s Sean Hannity on Thursday. “This will be the most fraudulent election in history.”
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