Surgery on Noriega brain tumor postponed: Doctor

PANAMA CITY: Scheduled surgery on imprisoned former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega to remove a benign brain tumor has been postponed because of the 82-year-old's frail health, his doctor told AFP on Tuesday.
The operation was to have taken place Thursday on the tumor, which has slowly grown since being detected years ago.
But the ex-general's personal doctor Eduardo Reyes said that, after being admitted to hospital, Noriega was found to be suffering blood pressure "too high for surgery."
He added that it was risky to expose Noriega to hospital infections "unnecessarily" and the operation had been put off "until new advice."
Panama's prison authorities did not confirm the cancelation of the surgery. In a text message to AFP, the Penitentiary Service said only that the surgery depended on "the corresponding medical evaluation and the decision of the patient."
Noriega was a military dictator of Panama in the 1980s. He was removed from power by US invasion and served time in US and French prisons for drug trafficking and money laundering.
Since being extradited from France to Panama in 2011, Noriega has been convicted for the disappearance of several political opponents during his rule from 1983 to 1989.
He is currently incarcerated in Panama's El Renacer prison.
The former dictator has suffered several strokes and has prostate cancer and heart disease.