Murray no pagará nada a familiares de Jackson

Fahd in stable condition after gall bladder surgery

AP Online March 10, 1998 | TAREK AL-ISSAWI Associated Press Writer TAREK AL-ISSAWI Associated Press Writer AP Online 03-10-1998 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) _ Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd was in stable condition today after emergency surgery following a gall bladder infection, hospital officials said.

A team of American doctors operated Monday night after the monarch was admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

An infection that helped send him to the hospital was subsiding and King Fahd – who is in his mid-70s and has had a range of health problems – was expected to be discharged soon, the officials said.

In the procedure, surgeons lowered a tiny camera and long, narrow surgical instruments though small incisions in the stomach. The officials would not disclose exactly what was done in the operation, except to say that the king’s gall bladder was not removed. website gall bladder surgery

The hospital stopped all visits and calls and has barred relatives from visiting Fahd.

A royal court statement issued Monday said the king was to undergo hospital tests after suffering from a gall bladder infection.

King Fahd was on vacation outside Riyadh since Feb. 28. He cut it short after he felt pain and was advised by his doctors to submit to medical checks.

It marked the first time since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995 that Saudi Arabia had publicly announced that the monarch was admitted to a hospital.

In May 1994, doctors removed a stone from a duct near his gall bladder.

In news broadcasts today, King Fahd’s half-brother, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, said Fahd was in “good health.” He was responding to inquiries from a number of leaders, including Iranian President Mohamad Khatami, Bahrain’s emir Sheik Issa bin Salman al-Khalifa and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Abdullah briefly took over the running of the country for seven weeks after Fahd’s stroke and has played a major role in day-to-day government since then.

Fahd was born in 1924 but the exact date is not known. He has been staunchly pro-American in his policies since he ascended the throne in 1982 after the death of his brother, Khaled. web site gall bladder surgery

Since the stroke, Fahd has used a wheelchair and is able to take a few steps or stand up to meet visitors only with the help of a cane.

The stroke also left him with short-term memory loss and the inability to concentrate for any stretch of time. In addition, Fahd has suffered for years from diabetes and arthritis.

In the past, Fahd had a reputation as a playboy and gambler, but then held a long string of positions in the Saudi government after reportedly being warned to clean up his image if he wanted to maintain his line in the royal succession.