Austin cancels trip to Europe after returning to hospital

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III will not travel to Brussels this week to meet with his NATO and European counterparts, a Pentagon official said Monday, as he remained hospitalized due to complications from prostate cancer surgery.

Mr Austin, 70, returned to hospital on Sunday for the third time in two months, with “symptoms suggestive of an emerging bladder problem.” He had initially intended to “maintain the functions and duties of his office,” but he soon transferred his powers to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks.

It was unclear how long Mr. Austin was expected to remain at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where he was taken on Sunday. In a statement, Dr. Gregory Chesnut and Dr. John Maddox that Mr. Austin underwent non-surgical procedures on Monday “under general anesthesia to address his bladder problem.”

“A prolonged hospital stay is not expected,” the doctors said, adding that they expected Mr. Austin “could resume his normal duties tomorrow.”

Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters that Celeste Wallander, the assistant secretary of Defense for international security affairs, would represent the United States at a meeting on Ukraine in Brussels on Wednesday. He also said that US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith would represent Mr Austin at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday.

Mr. Austin, Gen. Ryder said, may attend Wednesday's meeting virtually if his health permits. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also expected to attend Wednesday's meeting virtually, Gen. Ryder said.

On December 22, Mr. Austin underwent a so-called prostatectomy, in which all or part of the prostate gland was removed. He was released after surgery but returned a week later with an infection. He was put in intensive care and the doctors said they had drained excess abdominal fluid.

Mr. Austin was widely criticized for not immediately disclosing his illness and absence to the White House, a breach of protocol that stunned officials across the administration, including the Pentagon.

He remained in the hospital for two weeks in January and returned to the Pentagon on January 29.

Two experts who specialize in prostate cancer surgery said most men who undergo a prostatectomy do not need to return to hospital in the weeks after the operation.

a recent research found that in the United States, only about 4 percent of men who undergo prostatectomy are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days afterward, and fewer than 2 percent are readmitted 31 to 90 days afterward.

Mr. Austin has had “a more difficult course than most patients,” said Dr. Judd W. Moul, a urologist and prostate specialist at Duke University.

Dr. Moul and Dr. Herbert Lepor, a professor of urology at the New York University School of Medicine, said a possible reason for Mr. Austin's most recent hospitalization could be that scar tissue from his surgery had reduced the passage of urine. his bladder.

A typical remedy is stretching or dilating the urethra, a minimally invasive procedure often performed under general anesthesia, said Dr. Lepor. A catheter is usually inserted to drain the urine. Patients may need a catheter for a few days afterwards. Long-term use of a catheter would only be necessary if doctors cannot dilate the urethra sufficiently.

Dr. Moul said public awareness of prostate-related health issues has been raised by attention to Mr Austin's condition and the recent announcement that doctors treating King Charles III for an enlarged prostate discovered he had cancer (the type of cancer is not yet known) . made public).

“We've never had this kind of urological intrigue before,” said Dr. Moul.

At a press conference on February 1, the defense minister, known for being extremely private, tried to explain why he was silent about a disease he described as a “gut punch.”

Mr. Austin said he thought President Biden had enough on his mind without having to worry about his defense secretary's personal problems.

“When you're president of the United States, you have a lot of things on your plate,” he said. “I just didn't feel like I had to do that at the time. But again, I recognize that was a mistake.”

The House Armed Services Committee has asked Mr. Austin to testify this month about why he and his aides kept his illness a secret.