Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to make a swift recovery after being hospitalized over the weekend, according to a statement released by Walter Reed Military Medical Center officials.
The statement notes that Austin was put under general anesthesia on Monday to treat an unspecified and emergent “bladder issue,” but that a “prolonged” hospital stay is not anticipated. His doctors said he is expected to resume his duties as early as Tuesday after being monitored overnight.
At a Monday press briefing, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said a previously scheduled trip to Brussels on Austin’s itinerary this week had been canceled. Two meetings he had been expected to attend there are now set to take place online, according to Ryder.
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The major general declined to share details on Austin’s medical procedure, nor whether his hospitalization was related to a string of health issues connected to his prostate cancer diagnosis.
Austin was previously hospitalized in early January for complications that arose from a Dec. 22 surgery to treat his cancer—a stay he did not inform the White House about and for which he later apologized.
This time, Austin is not expected to remain long at Walter Reed.
“The current bladder issue is not expected to change his anticipated full recovery,” medical officials said. “His cancer prognosis remains excellent.”
