Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s hospitalization is the result of complications from a procedure he received to treat prostate cancer, according to medical officials.
Austin, 70, was diagnosed with prostate cancer last month, which was detected early, and on Dec. 22, he “underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure called a prostatectomy to treat and cure prostate cancer,” according to a statement from Dr. John Maddox, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s trauma medical director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, the director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research of the Murtha Cancer Center.
Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on Monday that neither the White House nor Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks was informed of the Dec. 22 surgery, even though Austin transferred certain authorities to Hicks.
He was released from the hospital one day after the surgery, during which he was placed under general anesthesia.
Austin was then taken to Walter Reed hospital on Jan. 1 after suffering from “nausea with severe abdominal, hip, and leg pain. Initial evaluation revealed a urinary tract infection,” the doctors said. “Further evaluation revealed abdominal fluid collections impairing the function of his small intestines. This resulted in the back up of his intestinal contents which was treated by placing a tube through his nose to drain his stomach. The abdominal fluid collections were drained by non-surgical drain placement.”
President Joe Biden was not informed of Austin’s cancer diagnosis until Tuesday, more than a week after Austin was hospitalized, even though the two leaders spoke on Saturday. Roughly a month passed between when the defense secretary found out he was diagnosed with cancer and when Biden was informed of the diagnosis.
The secretary is expected to make a full recovery, though it remains unclear when he will be released from the hospital.
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Austin’s staff failed to notify Congress or the White House of his hospitalization for days, which has raised significant concerns among lawmakers. Both the White House and the Pentagon are reviewing these notification processes. Austin’s chief of staff, Kelly Magsamen, directed Jennifer Walsh, the director of administration and management, to work with the general counsel to complete a review of the notification process within 30 days.
Magsamen was one of a couple of senior DOD aides who knew of Austin’s hospitalization on Tuesday, but she was out sick with the flu, and relevant congressional and executive officials were not notified until Thursday.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks temporarily assumed some of Austin’s responsibilities as secretary of defense last Tuesday, a day after Austin was admitted to the hospital. She was unaware until Thursday that the reason she was given those authorities was because Austin was hospitalized. Austin reassumed his duties on Friday of last week.
