Saudi King OK After Surgery In NYC

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz arrived in NYC on Tuesday for a medical stay and now he's "recovering" after surgery. The 87-year-old leader of the world's top oil-producing country, who had a blot clot form on a slipped disc and needed treatment, reportedly had a "successful operation." His brother, Crown Prince Sultan, also in his 80s, is in charge of the country, but is also described as "frail"; Reuters says, "The kingdom is keen to show its allies in Washington and elsewhere there will be no power vacuum as health problems beset its octogenarian rulers, but the question of whether a reformist or a conservative will take over remains a matter of concern."

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By Jen Chung in News on November 25, 2010 1:01 PM

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wow 14th street

Now ,let's get back to the decapitation and hanging of our servants now prisoners who stole silverware.

WrecklessAbandon

Whew!! Thank whatever he's OK. I mean, it's great to help one of the worst people in the world and the king of a country that nurtured the 9/11 terrorists (and applauded what they did). Wow!

Gotham Extremist

Does he have insurance? What was his copay?

Neoma

Oh God! i got so happy to listen this new..Now i am feeling well more and more..And i hope he will perfect in every situation..

Super Probiotic

Rocknrope

Oh, I'm so glad he's okay.

dadoc

Was going to criticize Jen, but the clot/disc thing was quoted from other sources. Weird, sounds like he had a back problem, had an epidural injection in Saudi Arabia, and developed the clot in the spinal canal. Don't think I've ever seen a spontaneous epidural hematoma from a disc. Sounds like he had a laminectomy (spine operation) here to evacuate the clot and stabilize the spine. Complicating this is that having recent spinal surgery, he can't be on "blood thinners", and is at risk for clots in the legs.

On other notes, I wonder which HMO he's got, and whether he's going to opt for the scan or patdown on his return trip? Leaving politics and bias aside.....

Mordicai

This ought to end well!

Peter

The second-to-worst government in the world is the current government of Saudi Arabia.

The very worst government in the world is whatever replaces it.