Vice President Dick Cheney will have surgery next weekend to treat an aneurysm in an artery behind his right knee.

The condition, discovered earlier this year during a routine checkup, needs to be treated "as to not become a problem over time," Steve Schmidt, counselor to the vice president, says.

"The procedure will be performed under local anesthetic," Schmidt says. "It will take place next weekend. It will involve a short hospital stay. The vice president will return to work shortly thereafter."

Schmidt says more details will be announced next week.