After Undergoing Hernia Surgery, Peres Resumes Tight Schedule

Israel President Shimon Peres is scheduled to resume his daily routine today after undergoing a 45-minute hernia repair surgery on Friday.

“I feel terrific, and as far as I am concerned, I can go home now,” Peres said over the weekend after the procedure, which was performed at the Sheba Medical Center with general anaesthesia.

While on an official visit to Canada, the president complained of pain in his abdomen. Professor Raphael Walden, who is both Peres’ son-in-law and personal physician, noticed a bulge on the president’s body. Walden, who specializes in vascular surgery, diagnosed the condition as hernia and then carried out a procedure to provide temporary relief, which enabled the president to continue with the visit as planned.

Walden further decided to have the president undergo laparoscopic surgery once he returned to Israel, to ensure proper blood supply to the affected tissue. Inadequate blood supply may occur if the condition is left untreated over time. This kind of surgery requires only small incisions and therefore is only minimally invasive.

Professor Mordechai Gutman, head of General Surgery and Transplants at Sheba, carried out the operation together with anesthesiologist Dr. Haim Berkenstadt. “The operation was successful. The president is no longer under anaesthesia and feels good,” Walden reported after the operation was completed.

The medical team reported that the president has been recuperating as expected and even left his bedside Saturday to talk with security officials via a secure phone that had been sent over to the hospital. The president, who was discharged on Sunday, has asked his staff to fill his schedule with official engagements, although the physicians instructed him to get more rest at home for several more days.

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu visited with Peres at the hospital on Saturday, telling him, “You look great, the people of Israel wish you a complete recovery.”

{Israel Hayom/Matzav.com Newscenter}