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The nation's top expert on infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force, underwent outpatient surgery Thursday morning to remove a polyp on his vocal cord. Fauci's office confirmed to ABC News that he is home now and resting. (Flaherty, 8/20)

[Dr. Anthony] Fauci, 79, said by text message that the surgery was conducted under general anesthesia at George Washington University Hospital. Doctors have told him to rest, avoid speaking “for a few days” and then limit the time he spends doing interviews and other speaking for a week or two. Vocal cord polyps are usually noncancerous growths, according to Albert L. Merati, chief of laryngology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. They can cause hoarseness and almost always result from overusing vocal cords or trauma to the vocal cords, he said. (Bernstein, 8/20)

Fauci has previously addressed his vocal cord issues, telling the Economic Club of Washington in April that he had influenza A in December, developed tracheitis and was getting better -- until the coronavirus put him on a busy schedule of briefings and interviews. "When you get your voices damaged a little -- I probably have a polyp there -- the only way to get better is to keep your mouth shut," he said at the time. (Gupta and Watts, 8/20)