Minn. Gov. Dayton heads to Mayo for spinal surgery

Published 10:29 am Thursday, December 27, 2012

ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) — Spinal surgery will likely sideline Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton for the rest of the year.

Dayton is heading to Rochester’s Mayo Clinic Thursday for an operation he hopes will relieve a constriction in his lower back, known as stenosis.

Mayo Clinic says the spinal stenosis that afflicts Dayton is generally caused by normal wear-and-tear on the spine due to aging.

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Dayton turns 66 in a few weeks.

He is scheduled to be released from the hospital by Monday and will return to St. Paul then. He plans to work from the Governor’s Residence during a recuperation period.