CAIRO: Egypt s President Hosni Mubarak s health is satisfactory after surgery in Germany to remove a gall bladder, the head of the medical team at Heidelberg University Hospital said on Thursday.
President Hosni Mubarak s overall medical condition continues to improve in a satisfactory manner, Professor Markus Buechler said in a statement released by Egyptian authorities.
He also confirmed that Mubarak, 81, left the intensive care unit on Wednesday to a regular hospital room following Saturday s surgery to remove his gall bladder.
During the surgery, Mubarak also had a benign growth removed from his small intestine.
The final pathology report has confirmed the benign nature of the tissues removed during the surgery. Buechler said.
His convalescence phase in the coming days will include increased physical mobility to recover from all the effects of the surgical intervention, he said.
Mubarak, who has been on a diet of semi-solid food, is also due to gradually return to normal diet in the coming days, he added.
The president will remain during this phase under our medical care and our direct and continuous supervision, Buechler said.
Mubarak has delegated executive powers to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif until he returns to Cairo.
His health is usually a taboo subject in the country he has ruled since 1981, fuelling regular rumors. Journalists writing about Mubarak s health have been handed jail sentences in the past.
Mubarak s fifth six-year term as president ends in 2011. During a speech in 2005, he said he would stay in power until his last breath. -AFP
