McCain leaves Arizona hospital after surgery

By Dana Bash
CNN Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. Sen. John McCain left the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, on Wednesday morning after doctors told him surgery to remove an early form of melanoma from his nose was successful.

"He's in good spirits and on his way home," said spokeswoman Nancy Ives, who said the lawmaker plans to be back in the Senate next week with almost no restrictions. He will have stitches on his nose for about a week, Ives said.

McCain, R-Arizona, had a skin lesion removed Monday from the left side of his nose that doctors said was a low-risk, early stage or "in situ" melanoma.

The senator returned to the hospital Tuesday for an hourlong reconstructive surgery to repair a mark left on his nose.

A statement from McCain's office said a pathology report found no further evidence of any cancer cells.

According to his office, surgeons performed a procedure called a bilobed flap reconstruction, which moves skin from adjacent areas on the nose to fill a defect left after skin surgery.

McCain's lesion was less than 1 centimeter in diameter, and his office said it was not related to his two previous bouts with skin cancer.

The former presidential candidate had stage II melanoma removed from his left temple in August 2000.

Melanoma "in situ" is the earliest and most curable form of cancer when removed.