EGN NEWS DESK
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III underwent a nonsurgical process on Friday night time to handle a bladder-related concern and throughout the hospitalization briefly turned over duties to his deputy, the Pentagon stated on Friday.
Around 6 p.m., Mr. Austin underwent “a profitable, elective, and minimally invasive follow-up” process at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, stated in a press release.
“During that interval, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks assumed the features and duties of the secretary of protection,” the assertion stated.
Mr. Austin resumed his duties at 8:25 p.m. and returned dwelling, General Ryder stated. He added that Mr. Austin, a retired four-star Army normal, was anticipated to take part in Memorial Day occasions scheduled on Monday.
It was the newest in a string of medical procedures for Mr. Austin in latest months, and his preliminary secrecy surrounding them has drawn scrutiny to each him and the Pentagon.
Mr. Austin and Ms. Hicks carried out the identical momentary change of duties in early February when Mr. Austin underwent a nonsurgical process beneath normal anesthesia to handle a bladder concern.
On Dec. 22, Mr. Austin underwent a prostatectomy, the removing of all or a part of the prostate gland, to deal with prostate most cancers. He was launched after the surgical procedure however returned a bit of over per week later with an an infection. He was put in intensive care, and medical doctors stated they drained extra stomach fluid.
Mr. Austin was extensively criticized for failing to right away disclose his sickness and absence to the White House, a breach of protocol that baffled officers throughout the federal government, together with on the Pentagon.
He remained hospitalized for 2 weeks in January and returned to the Pentagon on Jan. 29. But on Feb. 11, he was again within the hospital with persevering with bladder issues, which medical doctors have stated are usually not associated to Mr. Austin’s earlier most cancers prognosis. He was discharged two days later.
Since then, Mr. Austin has absolutely returned to his duties on the Pentagon and resumed touring abroad. On Friday morning, Mr. Austin gave the graduation handle to graduates on the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and returned to the Pentagon within the afternoon to satisfy with Kenya’s president, William Ruto.
The Pentagon introduced earlier on Friday that Mr. Austin would start a visit subsequent week to Singapore, Cambodia and France.
