Netanyahu undergoes prostate surgery

By TIA GOLDENBERG | Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli hospital says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery.

Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center said his prostate was removed late Sunday.

Netanyahu was placed under full anesthesia for the procedure. Doctors said he was awake and recovering Sunday night. Netanyahu’s office had said Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, would serve as acting prime minister during the procedure.

Doctors ordered the operation after detecting an infection last week. Netanyahu is expected to remain hospitalized for several days.

Netanyahu, 75, who has had a series of health issues in recent years, has gone to great lengths to bolster a public image of himself as a healthy, energetic leader. During his trial this month, he boasted about working 18-hour days, accompanied by a cigar.

Last year, Netanyahu’s doctors revealed that he had a heart condition, a problem that he had apparently long known about but concealed from the public. A week after a fainting spell, Netanyahu was fitted with a pacemaker to control his heartbeat. Only then did staff at the Sheba Medical Center reveal that he has for years experienced a condition that can cause irregular heartbeats.

Also last year, he was rushed to the hospital for what doctors said likely was dehydration. He stayed overnight, prompting his weekly Cabinet meeting to be delayed.

This year, Netanyahu underwent hernia surgery, during which he was under full anesthesia and unconscious. Levin served as acting prime minister during the operation.

According to Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection on Wednesday stemming from a benign enlargement of his prostate.

Because the prostate was not cancerous, doctors were expected to perform an endoscopic surgery rather than making surgical cuts in the abdomen, Dr. Shay Golan, head of the oncology urology service at Israel’s Rabin Medical Center, told Israeli Army Radio. Golan spoke in general terms and was not involved in Netanyahu’s care or treatment.

The procedure lasts about an hour, Golan said, and recovery is quick. He said that aside from catheter use for one to three days after the procedure, patients can return to normal activity without significant limitations.