Enrique Peña Nieto Surgery: Mexican President To Undergo Thyroid Nodule Removal Procedure

A thyroid nodule will put Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto out for a few days. He will have surgery July 31 at the Central Military Hospital in Mexico City, his office announced late Wednesday. The procedure will require a four-day respite at Los Pinos, Mexico's presidential building. The gland located below the voicebox typically regulates metabolism, and nodules in that region could be cancerous.

Removal of a nodule, however, does not necessarily link to illness. Nodules may be removed if they are causing discomfort or have grown too large. The president most likely underwent a biopsy to determine the status of the lump. A spokesman for the president declined to comment on the results of the testing, the Los Angeles Times reported. Peña Nieto of the Institutional Revolution Party, PRI, took office in January 2012. He has been attempting to change the direction of the country his predecessor, Felipe Calderon of the National Action Party, PAN, left behind, particular Mexico's gruesome drug war. He said he intends to produce reforms to modernize Mexico's government.