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Saudi King's 2nd Surgery Successful, Still At NY-Presbyterian
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 4, 2010
Modified Dec 4, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 4, 2010
Modified Dec 4, 2010
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Saudi King Abdullah had a second surgery yesterday at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and his royal palace says it was a success. The 86-year-old leader of the world's top oil-producing country will now start physical therapy... which means he'll be sticking around the VIP section of the hospital a little while longer.
King Abdullah arrived in NYC nearly two weeks ago to fix a slipped disc and a blot clot that was had formed and was pressing on nerves around the spine. The first surgery (to remove the clot) was last week and yesterday's surgery involved stabilizing vertebrae. The royal palace did not say when he would be returning back to Saudi Arabia, which is currently under the control of the king's half brother, Crown Prince Sultan, who is 80 and has his own health issues.
A commenter told us that King Abdullah reserved all the rooms at Greenberg Pavilion South, the hospital's VIP section (20 rooms and suites, according to this PDF), forcing other patients to move to another section of the hospital, and a family member of another patient told Page Six, "The king has taken the entire luxury treatment wing and booked out all the rooms, even though they are empty and he doesn't need them, to protect his privacy." And the gossip column added, "One law enforcement source told us that Abdullah -- who was visited in Saudi Arabia by four Cornell doctors who advised him he had to have the surgery in New York -- is a generous donor to the hospital and visited a month prior to his surgery."
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king abdullah
new york-Presbyterian hospital
saudi arabia
surgery
VIP
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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