Boston mayor has eyelid surgery

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BOSTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino had surgery Wednesday to repair drooping eyelids, a condition that had affected his sight, officials said.

The Boston Globe reported the hourlong outpatient procedure was successful.

Menino was awake but sedated while Dr. Mami A. Iwamoto of Massachusetts General Hospital performed the operation, which included making an incision in the mayor's eyelids, the newspaper said.

Menino's eyelids had been slowly drooping for the past decade, officials said. The condition is likely due to aging.

"It's like looking out a porthole with a shade down," Iwamoto said prior to the surgery. "The shade interferes with the view out the porthole."

The surgery is common, Iwamoto said, but causes bruising and swelling, so Menino will likely be out of the public eye for about a week.

"The need for a correction is definitely driven by a medical need, not aesthetics," Iwamoto said. "This is functional."

Since becoming mayor in 1993 at age 50, Menino has undergone surgery for cataracts, a torn tendon in his knee and a rare form of cancer in his back, the Globe said.