BOGOTA – Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzon underwent emergency surgery earlier this week after suffering a stroke, the doctors treating him at Bogota’s Reina Sofia Hospital said.
The vice president is being closely monitored at the intensive care unit following Monday’s operation, the hospital said in a statement.
The 65-year-old Garzon, who was admitted last Thursday due to a urological infection, was forced to undergo the surgery after suffering a “sudden neurological event of vascular origin,” doctors said.
The vice president had been recovering favorably from the urological condition when the medical emergency occurred on Monday.
The Office of the Vice President said last Friday that Garzon had been hospitalized “as a preventative measure” while undergoing “routine exams.”
This is the second serious health scare Garzon has had since assuming the vice presidency on Aug. 8, 2010, the first of which was a heart ailment a day after he took office that left him incapacitated for several weeks.
Garzon, a prominent former labor leader who was the running mate of President Juan Manual Santos, recently fell short in his bid to become the new director-general of the International Labor Organization. EFE
Source: Latin American Herald Tribune
