Panama’s ex-dictator Noriega ‘critical’ after brain surgery
PANAMA CITY: Panama’s former military dictator Manuel Noriega is in a “critical” condition after undergoing surgery on Tuesday to remove a benign brain tumour, the 83-year- old’s family and lawyer said.
While the operation to cut out the tumour was “successful,” complications set in, the lawyer, Ezra Angel said.
During post- operation tests, “it was found there was bleeding, and because of that he was taken back into the operating theatre to bring the haemorrhage under control and to stabilise him,” Angel said.
The additional procedure was “even riskier” than the first, he added.
A daughter of Noriega’s, Lorena Noriega, told reporters that her father had a “big cerebral haemorrhage that is completely inflamed and he is in critical condition.”
Frail and frequently ill from a variety of ailments, Noriega was released from El Renacer prison on the banks of the Panama Canal into home detention in January to prepare for Tuesday’s operation, which had been delayed since February.
Noriega had been suffering from a benign meningioma, a tumour on membranes that cover the brain and spinal cord just inside the skull.
The tumour had shown “unexpected growth,” which boosted the need for surgery to avoid damage to the brain, his personal doctor, Eduardo Reyes said, adding that Noriega’s age had meant he was a “high-risk patient.”
Authorities had indicated that, if the surgery went well and he recovered, Noriega would be eventually returned to prison.
His family has long argued that he be put under house arrest instead. They cite his poor health, which has included several strokes, lung complications, prostate cancer and depression. — AFP