The Pentagon has disclosed that Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was hospitalised since the beginning of January due to complications from prostate cancer surgery. The surgery reportedly caused infection and he had to be hospitalised at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, a statement from his doctors released by The Pentagon said.
The statement from Austin’s doctors, John Maddox and Gregory Chestnut, said that his surgery was done on December 22. All went well with the surgery but he was under general anaesthesia. “The cancer was detected early and his prognosis is excellent,” the doctors said.
While the 70-year-old returned home on December 23, he started experiencing severe hip and leg pain and nausea on January 1. He then had to return to the hospital.
It was determined that Austin had a urinary tract infection, so he was transferred to the intensive care unit for “close monitoring and a higher level of care,” the statement said. Doctors later found that he had “abdominal fluid collections impairing the function of his small intestines.”
“This resulted in the back up of his intestinal contents which was treated by placing a tube through his nose to drain his stomach,” the officials added. “The abdominal fluid collections were drained by non-surgical drain placement. He has progressed steadily throughout his stay.”
On Tuesday, January 9, officials said that Austin’s “infection has cleared” and that “he continues to make progress and we anticipate a full recovery although this can be a slow process.” They added that when Austin was hospitalised, he “never lost consciousness and never underwent general anesthesia.”
The Defense Department was deeply criticised for taking three days to inform the White House and key defence officials about the hospitalisation. Questions were raised on how the head of the military could be away from work for such a long time without informing senior members of the administration.
