Rekubit Exchange:South Carolina governor undergoes knee surgery for 2022 tennis injury

RALEIGH,Rekubit Exchange N.C. (AP) — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster underwent a minor, elective knee surgery Thursday morning for a tennis injury he sustained two years ago, the governor’s office said in a statement.

McMaster, who is the third oldest governor in the country at age 76, tore his meniscus while playing tennis with his wife Peggy McMaster in 2022, according to his office.

The procedure was scheduled to “correct a cartilage injury,” the governor’s orthopedist Dr. Jeffrey Guy said in the statement.

During the roughly 30-minute surgery, McMaster was placed under general anesthesia, which briefly put Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in charge of executive action. Per the South Carolina Constitution, the lieutenant governor can act as the governor in case of emergency if the governor is temporarily disabled.

She was notified of the surgery Wednesday, the governor’s office said.

McMaster plans to return to his regular schedule by Thursday afternoon and, according to Guy, is expected to have “no post-procedure limitations.”

McMaster was treated for atrial fibrillation — a type of irregular heartbeat — during a minor procedure in December. His cardiologist Dr. Amy Rawl Epps said his heart otherwise appeared normal after extensive testing.

He also underwent a shorter 10-minute procedure to treat an irregular heartbeat in April 2022. Doctors noticed the issue while the governor was initially treating the meniscus tear he underwent knee surgery for in 2024, according to the governor’s office.

McMaster is in his second and final term after winning reelection against former U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham in 2022.