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Egypt’s Mubarak in ‘Stable Condition’: State TV | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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CAIRO (AFP) – Veteran Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is in a “stable condition” following surgery in Germany to have his gall bladder removed, state television said on Sunday.

“The president is in stable condition,” the television said.

Mubarak, who is being treated at Heidelberg University Hospital, also had a growth removed from his small intestine and was fully conscious after the operation, a statement from the hospital said on Saturday.

The 81-year-old president had suffered from chronic calculus cholecystitis — an inflammation of the gall bladder accompanied by gall stones — and a duodenal polyp.

Doctors at the hospital said they were satisfied with the “successful” surgery. His wife Suzanne and other family members accompanied him to Heidelberg.

The president delegated executive powers to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif until he returns to Cairo.

Mubarak’s health is usually a taboo subject in the country he has ruled since 1981, fuelling regular rumours. Journalists writing about the president’s health have been handed jail sentences in the past.

In 2004, Mubarak delegated executive powers to then Prime Minister Atef Ebeid when he was treated in Germany for a slipped disc.

In 2003, he collapsed briefly during a live address to parliament. Officials said it was caused by a combination of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan and a cold.

Mubarak’s fifth six-year term as president ends in 2011. During a speech in 2005, Mubarak said he would remain in power until his “last breath.”