Corbett

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett will not be in Butler on Friday.

That is because Corbett, who was to be the featured speaker at the Butler County Republican Committee’s Lincoln Day Dinner, will be recuperating from a hernia surgery this morning in Pittsburgh.

Jeff Smith, chairman of the committee, said it can be disappointing when a speaker of Corbett’s stature cancels an appearance.

“But the governor’s health is way more important than our dinner,” Smith said this morning.

Now Corbett’s wife, Susan, will speak.

In a letter to the committee, Corbett joked that attendees are getting the “better end of the deal” by having his wife speak instead. Corbett told Smith that he will make it to Butler for an event later this year.

Smith said about 250 people will attend the dinner, which also will feature talks by GOP candidates for the state House of Representatives.

Corbett’s office described the surgery as minor, and his news secretary Jay Pagni said he was expected to be under general anesthesia for about an hour.

The laparoscopic procedure at Allegheny General Hospital’s outpatient surgery facility is to repair an abdominal hernia.

Pagni said Corbett will recuperate for several days at his home in Shaler and return to work Monday.

While in surgery, Corbett planned to transfer power temporarily to Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley.

Corbett has lost about 35 pounds since last summer.

He had back surgery at the same hospital in May 2011, his first year in office.

Corbett also had angioplasty to clear a blocked artery after a mild heart attack in 1997.