Castro in grave condition?

Created: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 Print Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in "grave" condition, according to a Spanish newspaper report.

The Associated Press reported that El Pais newspaper said Castro, 80, has had at least three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection and that he faces "a very grave prognosis."

The Cuban government has released little information about Fidel Castro since he had emergency intestinal surgery in July and temporarily ceded power to his brother Raul.

Some US doctors believed he was suffering from diverticular disease, which can cause bleeding in the lower intestine, especially in people over 60. In severe cases, emergency surgery may be required. The Spanish newspaper reported that its sources said Castro had suffered a bout of the disease.

"In the summer, the Cuban leader bled abundantly in the intestine,'' El Pais reported. "His condition, moreover, was aggravated because the infection spread and caused peritonitis, the inflammation of the membrane that covers the digestive organs.''

In December, the newspaper added, Castro had an abdominal wound that was leaking more than a pint of fluids a day, causing '''a severe loss of nutrients.'' The Cuban leader was being fed intravenously, the report said.

The report could not be immediately confirmed, according to the AP. A Cuban diplomat in Madrid said the report was a lie. – (HealthDayNews)

Read more:
Does Castro have cancer?
Castro recovering quickly

January 2007

  Go to News main page Share with a friend