UPDATE 1-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg to attend arguments after cancer bout

U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Tuesday will make her first appearance on the bench since lung cancer surgery in December, attending an oral argument in a patent case, a court spokeswoman said. Ginsburg, a liberal jurist who will turn 86 in March, will participate in a one-hour argument in a case involving the U.S. Postal Service, the spokeswoman said.

Ginsburg, who joined the court in 1993, underwent a surgical procedure called a pulmonary lobectomy on Dec. 21 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to remove two cancerous nodules in her left lung. She was released from the hospital on Dec. 25. She returned to the court for the first time since the surgery to take part in the nine justices' private conference on Friday. Last month, the court said Ginsburg's recovery was on track and that there was no evidence of remaining disease.

Ginsburg missed oral arguments in January for the first time in her lengthy career on the court, fueling speculation about her ability to continue in the job. As the oldest justice, she is closely watched for any signs of deteriorating health. She is one of four liberal justices on a court with a 5-4 conservative majority.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)