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Buenos Aires, Jan 6 (IANS/EFE) An operation to remove a cancerous tumour from Argentine President Cristina Fernandez's thyroid gland has been completed 'without problems or complications', the government said. The 58-year-old president awoke shortly after Wednesday's three-hour-long procedure and is scheduled to receive the 'usual post-operative care', according to the medical bulletin signed by lead surgeon Pedro Saco and Eduardo Schnitzler, the head of the surgical department at Austral Hospital. Fernandez was scheduled to spend three days at the hospital, presidential spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro told hundreds of well-wishers camped outside the hospital near Buenos Aires. The crowd reacted with chants and cries of joy to the news that the operation was a success. The recent announcement of Fernandez's cancer came 14 months after her husband and presidential predecessor, Nestor Kirchner, died of a heart attack. The president was accompanied inside the hospital by her children, Maximo and Florencia Kirchner, as well as Social Development Minister Alicia Kirchner, Nestor's sister. Vice President Amado Boudou will preside over the government during Fernandez's 20-day medical leave. --IANS/EFE pm
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