Mandela undergoes surgery for gallstones
Source: Agencies |
December 16, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOUTH Africa's former President Nelson Mandela underwent successful surgery to remove gallstones yesterday, the nation's presidency said, as the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon is still recovering from a lung infection.
Doctors treating Mandela waited to perform the endoscopic surgery as they wanted to first attend to his lung ailment, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement.
Mandela has been hospitalized since December 8.
In the procedure, a patient receives sedatives and an anesthetic to allow a surgeon to put an endoscope down their throat, authorities say. The surgeon then can remove the gallstones, which are small, crystal-like masses that can cause a person tremendous pain.
"The procedure was successful and Madiba is recovering," Maharaj said, using Mandela's clan name as many do in South Africa as a sign of affection.
Maharaj's statement offered no other details about what additional care Mandela may require, nor did it suggest when he could be released from the hospital.
Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, was admitted last week to a hospital in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, the government has said. At first, officials said Mandela was undergoing tests and later they acknowledged he had been diagnosed with a lung infection.
The Nobel laureate has a history of lung problems, after falling ill with tuberculosis in 1988 toward the tail-end of his 27 years in prison, before his release and subsequent presidency.
South Africa, a nation of 50 million people, reveres Mandela for his magnanimity and being able to bridge racial gaps after centuries of white racist rule.
This hospital stay, his longest since undergoing radiation therapy in 2001 for prostate cancer, has sparked increasing concern about a man who represents the aspirations of a country still struggling with race and poverty.
Following the chaos that surrounded Mandela's stay at a public hospital in 2011, the South African military took charge of his care and the government took over control of the information about his health.
However, public worries over Mandela have grown as government officials contradicted themselves about Mandela's location, raising questions about who is actually treating him.
Doctors treating Mandela waited to perform the endoscopic surgery as they wanted to first attend to his lung ailment, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement.
Mandela has been hospitalized since December 8.
In the procedure, a patient receives sedatives and an anesthetic to allow a surgeon to put an endoscope down their throat, authorities say. The surgeon then can remove the gallstones, which are small, crystal-like masses that can cause a person tremendous pain.
"The procedure was successful and Madiba is recovering," Maharaj said, using Mandela's clan name as many do in South Africa as a sign of affection.
Maharaj's statement offered no other details about what additional care Mandela may require, nor did it suggest when he could be released from the hospital.
Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president, was admitted last week to a hospital in South Africa's capital, Pretoria, the government has said. At first, officials said Mandela was undergoing tests and later they acknowledged he had been diagnosed with a lung infection.
The Nobel laureate has a history of lung problems, after falling ill with tuberculosis in 1988 toward the tail-end of his 27 years in prison, before his release and subsequent presidency.
South Africa, a nation of 50 million people, reveres Mandela for his magnanimity and being able to bridge racial gaps after centuries of white racist rule.
This hospital stay, his longest since undergoing radiation therapy in 2001 for prostate cancer, has sparked increasing concern about a man who represents the aspirations of a country still struggling with race and poverty.
Following the chaos that surrounded Mandela's stay at a public hospital in 2011, the South African military took charge of his care and the government took over control of the information about his health.
However, public worries over Mandela have grown as government officials contradicted themselves about Mandela's location, raising questions about who is actually treating him.
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