Sec Def hospitalized
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What happened:
"As part of Secretary Austin's routinely recommended health screening, he has undergone regular prostate specific antigen (PSA) surveillance. Changes in his laboratory evaluation in early December 2023 identified prostate cancer which required treatment. On December 22, 2023, after consultation with his medical team, he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure called a prostatectomy to treat and cure prostate cancer. He was under general anesthesia during this procedure. Secretary Austin recovered uneventfully from his surgery and returned home the next morning. His prostate cancer was detected early, and his prognosis is excellent," Walter Reed's Dr. John Maddox and Dr. Gregory Chesnut released in a statement Tuesday.
"On January Ist, 2024, Secretary Austin was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with complications from the December 22 procedure, including nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain. Initial evaluation revealed a urinary tract infection. On January 2, the decision was made to transfer him to the ICU for close monitoring and a higher level of care. Further evaluation revealed abdominal fluid collections impairing the function of his small intestines," the statement contiues. "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 abdominal fluid collections were drained by non-surgical drain placement. He has progressed steadily throughout his stay. His infection has cleared. He continues to make progress and we anticipate a full recovery although this can be a slow process. During this stay, Secretary Austin never lost consciousness and never underwent general anesthesia."
Well, there's prostatectomy and there's PROSTATECTOMY. The fact that it was outpatient indicates that it was a minimally aggressive procedure. But, he did spend the night, which gives lie to the "outpatient procedure" we heard about.
abdominal fluid collections impairing the function of his small intestines
Sounds like something got perforated. Most likely victim - the bladder.
Note they call it "fluid," which a euphemism for "urine." Possible it was a bowel perforation, but that's unlikely to happen during a prostatectomy unless it's an open prostatectomy.
They say "urinarty tract infection." That makes it sound a lot less serious than it probably was.
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When I had my surgery, the surgeon warned me to not to bear down and force anything during the two week period I had to wear the catheter as it could lead to very undesirable complications. That meant plenty of fibre, water and nothing binding in the diet. Just let nature flow.
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When I had my surgery, the surgeon warned me to not to bear down and force anything during the two week period I had to wear the catheter as it could lead to very undesirable complications. That meant plenty of fibre, water and nothing binding in the diet. Just let nature flow.
@Renauda said in Sec Def hospitalized:
When I had my surgery
Yeah, but yours was not an "elective" "overnight-stay" type of thing.
It's possible, just possible, that he had robotic surgery which could, perhaps, result in a hospital stay of only one night.
If he had a robotic prostatectomy, that would make my perf'ed bladder theory more likely.
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@Renauda said in Sec Def hospitalized:
My surgery was robotic and did involve an overnight stay just like his.
Ah...
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@Renauda said in Sec Def hospitalized:
My surgery was robotic and did involve an overnight stay just like his.
Ah...
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There are three types of operations.
- Elective - we should do that in the next few weeks.
- Urgent - are you free tomorrow?
- Emergent - Right. Now.
If, indeed, he had a robotic radical prostatectomy, it was "elective" in the sense that it could be scheduled for a future date. I think the administration is tossing that word out to make it sound trivial.
It is not.
Today, hip replacements are "elective" and patients go home the next day, if not the same day. "Elective" ≠ "Simple" or "Minor."
"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08
The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.
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Oh...
"He (Biden) was not informed until last (Thursday) that Secretary Austin was in the hospital. He was not informed until this morning that the root cause of that hospitalization was prostate cancer," White House spokesperson John Kirby said.
"Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning, and the president was informed immediately after."
Austin and Biden spoke on Saturday and it was unclear why Biden did not learn until Tuesday about Austin's prostate cancer.
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There are three types of operations.
- Elective - we should do that in the next few weeks.
- Urgent - are you free tomorrow?
- Emergent - Right. Now.
If, indeed, he had a robotic radical prostatectomy, it was "elective" in the sense that it could be scheduled for a future date. I think the administration is tossing that word out to make it sound trivial.
It is not.
Today, hip replacements are "elective" and patients go home the next day, if not the same day. "Elective" ≠ "Simple" or "Minor."
According to your chart my surgery was elective insofar as wasn’t deemed urgent, although something had to be done - I was told either surgery or radiation sooner rather than later. I choose surgery. I was anticipating July, they called me beginning of June for surgery ten days later.
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strange story
maybe not bladder perf but ureteral injury, which maybe could missed for a few days until the leaking urine causes ileus and would require drainage and maybe a ureteral stent to bridge the hole. that would match the time frame (POD 8 ). bladder injury would probably need operative repair. Bowel injury would be unlikely because that would send him into sepsis almost immediately. and a vascular injury would lead to bleeding, which also would be picked up earlier. so i vote on injury to the ureter. not common but not unheard of.
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Can you imagine if the CEO of a company went MIA for 4 days and no one knew where he was?
Well, not "no one," obviously. Some people knew, and they're not talking.
The board would be holding an emergency meeting to discuss dismissal.
And...no word on what happened. My money's still on a colonoscopy gone sour.
@George-K said in Sec Def hospitalized:
And...no word on what happened. My money's still on a colonoscopy gone sour.
Didn’t an earlier report say a complication from an elective surgery? I wonder if his desire for privacy over that led him to not mention it to anyone.
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strange story
maybe not bladder perf but ureteral injury, which maybe could missed for a few days until the leaking urine causes ileus and would require drainage and maybe a ureteral stent to bridge the hole. that would match the time frame (POD 8 ). bladder injury would probably need operative repair. Bowel injury would be unlikely because that would send him into sepsis almost immediately. and a vascular injury would lead to bleeding, which also would be picked up earlier. so i vote on injury to the ureter. not common but not unheard of.
@bachophile said in Sec Def hospitalized:
maybe not bladder perf but ureteral injury,
My thoughts were that he had some kind of transurethral procedure where a bladder injury is probably more common. But a robotic prostatectomy? Yeah, the ureters.
I've given methylene blue countless times to help identify the ureters - albeit for gyne surgeons who tend to be a bit less...mindful.
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The SecDef's 911 call
The aide to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who made a 911 call to request an ambulance for the top official early this month requested that the dispatchers work to be “subtle” when they arrived at his residence, according to an audio recording of the Jan. 1 911 call exclusively obtained by The Daily Beast.
“Can I ask—can the ambulance not show up with lights and sirens? Uhm, we’re trying to remain a little subtle,” the aide said, according to the recording, which The Daily Beast obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in the state of Virginia.
The dispatcher responded that the ambulance could do that, noting that “usually when they turn into a residential neighborhood, they'll turn them off.” She added that the ambulance is required by law to run the sirens and lights on main streets, such as Georgetown Pike and Leesburg Pike.
The audio of the call, which has not previously been reported, reveals new details about the Secretary of Defense’s emergency, and suggests that the effort to keep his ailment secret was well-known among his close aides.
Although the Secretary of Defense kept the incident a secret from the public and from U.S. President Joe Biden and other senior administration officials, it was revealed last week that he had received surgery in December to treat and cure prostate cancer. He eventually went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after experiencing medical complications on Jan. 1.It is not clear who asked the aide to request the ambulance dispatchers attempt to fly under the radar, or if the aide acted of his own accord. The Pentagon did not immediately return a request for comment.
The identity of the caller has been redacted to protect personal information, according to the Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications. The department redacted other personal and health information from the call as well.
The secrecy of the Secretary of Defense’s hospital visit and treatment has raised some concerns in recent days. The extent of the Austin’s ailments—and whether it impacted his ability to carry out commands at a time of increased attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East—was unclear for several days.
The audio of the 911 call also reveals some new information about the Secretary of Defense’s medical condition at the time.The Secretary of Defense was not reporting any chest pain at the time, the aide said on the call. He also confirmed that Austin has not passed out and did not feel like he was going to pass out. When asked, the aide confirmed the Defense Secretary was alert and not confused.
