Carmona, 53, admitted himself to Tripler Army Medical Center at about 4 a.m. yesterday morning with intense stomach pain, spokesman Craig Stevens said. Doctors performed the 45-minute procedure around 10 p.m. that night, after extensive tests ruled out other problems.

He was expected to make a full recovery and be released from the hospital "within a couple of days," said Maj. Stanley Zagorski, staff general surgeon at Tripler, who performed the operation.

Tripler officials did not return telephone messages seeking further comment this afternoon.

Carmona was in Hawai'i to address a research symposium and meet with state and federal health officials.

"This sure is a tough way to get my first rest since taking the job" Carmona said in a statement released by his office on yesterday. "I'm looking forward to getting back to my full schedule as soon as my doctor and my wife let me, probably right after the holidays."

An appendectomy is unusual for men in their 50s, Zagorski said, but he noted Carmona is in excellent overall health, which will help his recovery.

Carmona is a former Green Beret who became a trauma surgeon. He was tapped in March to serve as the nation's chief doctor.