Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was put under general anesthesia Monday as he received non-surgical treatment for bladder issues a day after being admitted to the hospital for the third time in as many months, officials from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said in a statement released by the Pentagon.
“We anticipate a successful recovery and will closely monitor him overnight,” Dr. John Maddox, trauma medical director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research of the Murtha Cancer Center, said in the statement.
The hospitalization for bladder issues is the latest chapter in a growing collection of health issues Austin has faced since he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in December – a diagnosis he initially kept secret. The secrecy about the cancer, surgery to treat the cancer and a January hospitalization for complications from the surgery caused a scandal that continues to reverberate around D.C.
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The Monday statement did not specify how long Austin is expected to be hospitalized this time, but the doctors said a “prolonged hospital stay is not anticipated.”
In a press briefing after the statement was released, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder could not answer more detailed questions about Austin’s condition, instead repeatedly directing reporters to…
