 Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on Monday night underwent a "minor surgical procedure" after complaining of severe pain in the stomach and vomiting, PA officials confirmed late Monday night. The officials told The Jerusalem Post that Arafat, who was recovering from the flu, was suffering from intestinal infection. They said a group of doctors performed on the 75-year-old Arafat an endoscopic examination, which involves the use of a long slender medical instrument for checking the interior of hollow organs.
| This probably means little; an upper GI endoscopy is a diagnostic procedure. Differential diagnosis would have included a gastric or duodenal ulcer (bonus points for perforation), gastritis, severe reflux disease (doubtful), carcinoma (usually not that painful unless there are liver mets or outlet obstruction), biliary disease (gallstone, carcinoma, obstruction), or a number of things that endoscopy wouldn't diagnose (e.g., peritonitis, pancreatitis). |
A senior PA official said Arafat was in "good health" after the endoscopy and was surrounded by a large number of aides. "President Arafat is in good shape and is recovering," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Arafat. "He only needs to rest."
Abu Rudeineh denied that the PA had asked for permission from Israel for Arafat to go to a hospital in Ramallah for medical treatment. Earlier, Defense Ministry officials said Israel had agreed to let Arafat leave his compound briefly for medical treatment. PA Minister of Civilian Affairs Jamil Tarifi confirmed that he had approached the Israeli government asking for permission to allow Arafat to go to hospital, but explained that he did not make a formal request. Another PA minister said Arafat was originally set to undergo the endoscopic at hospital, but he refused to leave his office for fear that Israel would not allow him to return. Scores of PA officials converged on Arafat's compound on Monday night following reports about a serious deterioration in his health condition. Some expressed deep concern about Arafat's failing health. For a while, there were rumors in the city that Arafat had passed away, prompting top officials to issue vehement denials. A Tunisian medical team that arrived in Ramallah over the weekend to examine Arafat determined that he was recovering from an acute flu, but recommended that he go to hospital for further check-ups. The doctors returned to Arafat's office on Monday after the PA chairman complained of fatigue and stomach ache.
| It's certainly possible that all he had was "flu" -- some sort of viral gastritis/gastroenteritis. Then again, we're depending on these jokers to tell the truth. |
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