US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin released from hospital, resumes work: Pentagon

US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has been released from hospital and resumed his duties, informed the Pentagon on Tuesday (Feb 13). Austin was admitted to the critical care unit at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday (Feb 11) where he underwent treatment for bladder issues connected to his prostate cancer battle.

Pentagon said Austin resumed his full function and duties at around 5 pm (2200 GMT) after transferring some of his powers to his deputy Kathleen Hicks over the weekend.

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"Secretary Austin will recuperate and perform his duties remotely from home for a period before returning to work at the Pentagon later this week," his office said in a statement.

Unlike previous occasions where Austin's hospitalisation and subsequent release were kept secret, both the White House and Congress had been notified of his return to work, the Pentagon confirmed.

The doctors overseeing Austin's treatment were also quoted in the Pentagon statement.

"His condition indicated a need for close monitoring by the critical care team and supportive care. His diagnostic evaluation identified the cause of his bladder issue and it was corrected with non-surgical procedures on February 12," they said.

"He remained in good condition throughout and no longer needed critical care monitoring on (Tuesday morning).He progressed well and was discharged to his home today."

Having missed a meeting in Brussels of theUkraine Defence Contact Group of nations coordinating military assistance, Austin is likely to attend the virtual version of the gathering which would be his first assignment after being back in office.

Watch |US defense secretary Lloyd Austin's secret hospitalization: All you need to know

Austin's hospitalisation history

Notably, Austin had vanished from the public eye in Decemberand early January this year after suffering complications from treatment for prostate cancer.

He had undergone minor surgery on December 22 after early detection of prostate cancer in routine screening.After the procedure, Austin recovered without event and returned home the next morning.

However, complications soon emerged and evaluation revealed that abdominal fluid collection was impairing the function of his small intestines.

The defence secretary was hospitalised on New Year's Day (Jan 1) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to complications.

Surprisingly, the Pentagon did not make any official announcement until four days later while waiting to notify other top government officers about Austin's absence.

During the period, Austin was away from the action, and some of his powers were transferred to Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks.

However, even she was not informed that his boss had been hospitalised until two days later.

(With inputs from agencies)