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Governor Tom Corbett To Undergo Back Surgery

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - Governor Tom Corbett will spend the next day or two at a Pittsburgh hospital, where he undergoes routine back surgery, this morning.

Governor Corbett's surgery is to treat spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal canal that results in compression of the nerves, causing pain and decreased physical activity.

Corbett spokesman Kevin Harley says, "We've taken all the precautions in following the Constitution. While the governor is under general anesthesia, Lt. Governor Jim Cawley will become acting governor, up until the time the governor is out of recovery and is no longer under anesthesia."

Harley says Corbett has had spinal stenosis for a few years, and it has gotten progressively worse, but that by the same token, a battery of tests done during the run-up to the surgery shows that the governor is otherwise in fine health. After leaving the hospital, he's to spend a day or two recuperating at his suburban Pittsburgh home before a planned return to the capital later this week.

Reported by Harrisburg Bureau Chief Tony Romeo, KYW Newsradio 1060

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