Former U.S. President George W. Bush undergoes minor surgery

USPA News - Former U.S. President George W. Bush underwent surgery in Chicago over the holiday weekend for a partial knee replacement, his spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that the former leader had since returned home and is recovering quickly. Bush, 67, is understood to have undergone a partial knee replacement at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday.

A hospital spokesperson declined to comment whether Bush had been treated at the facility, citing patient confidentiality laws, but the hospital is home to one of the world`s top joint replacement programs. Bush spokesman Freddy Ford confirmed the former president underwent an outpatient procedure at a hospital in Chicago on Saturday morning. He said Bush was able to walk around again after just a few hours. "Even up and down a flight of stairs," the spokesman said. "He`s doing great." The former president returned to his home in Dallas, Texas, on Monday to continue his recovery, Ford added. Bush had been a longtime competitive runner and exercised regularly during his time in the White House, but knee pain led him to stop running in 2004, forcing him to switch to mountain biking, according to media reports. In August 2013, Bush underwent surgery in Texas to place a stent in a blocked heart artery. Bush, the 43rd President of the United States, was in office from January 2001 until January 2009, when incumbent President Barack Obama took over. Bush previously served as the Governor of Texas and he is also the son of former President H. W. Bush, who was in office from January 1989 until January 1993.