WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who suffers from thryoid cancer, was released from a hospital Friday where he had been treated following a tracheotomy.
Rehnquist was admitted to Bethesda Naval Hospital in the Maryland suburbs of Washington last Friday and underwent the tracheotomy Saturday.
The Supreme Court has been very sparse in releasing details about Rehnquist's illness, saying only that the procedure was necessary. No other details about the seriousness of the chief justice's illness have been released.
A tracheotomy creates a small hole in the neck, allowing air to enter the windpipe. It is not considered an emergency operation, merely a procedure to ease breathing.
Earlier this week, the court said Rehnquist was expected to return to the bench when the justices begin a new session Monday.
Court officials were not commenting on that schedule Friday.
The 80-year-old Rehnquist has been serving on the court since 1972, when he was nominated by President Richard Nixon. President Ronald Reagan elevated him to chief justice in 1986.
