EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker to undergo emergency gallbladder surgery as he cuts short his summer holiday Austria to fly home to Luxembourg for urgent operation
- European boss Jean-Claude Juncker to undergo emergency gallbladder surgery
- Commission President has cut short his holiday to Austria to fly to Luxembourg
- The 64-year-old had been in the final months of his five-year term in the role
European Union boss Jean-Claude Juncker will undergo emergency surgery to remove his gallbladder after cutting short his holiday to Austria.
The incumbent Commission President will fly home to Luxembourg for the urgent operation, the EU’s executive branch said in a statement.
The 64-year-old, who has also been troubled by a bad back over the years, is in the final months of his five-year term in the role, one of the leading jobs in the 28-nation European Union.
EU boss Jean-Claude Juncker is to undergo emergency gallbladder surgery as he cuts short his holiday to Austria to fly home to Luxembourg. (Pictured: Jean-Claude Juncker attends a weekly college meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, last month)
In a statement, the Brussel’s executive said Juncker would undergo an ‘urgent cholecystectomy’, which involves incisions being made on the abdomen to remove the organ.
‘Jean-Claude Juncker had to shorten his holiday in Austria for medical reasons,’ they said.
‘He was taken back to Luxembourg where he will undergo an urgent cholecystectomy (surgical removal of the gallbladder).’
The decision to have gallbladder surgery can be triggered by the symptoms caused by gallstones in the organ, which include persistent pain, shivering attacks and a sudden increase in heart rate according to the British Liver Trust.
On their website they also said that an imbalance in fluids in the bile, which can be caused by a diet high in saturated fat and refined sugars while being low in fibre, causes the gallstones build up.
The 64-year-old president, who has also suffered from a bad back over the years, is due to step down from his role at the end of October this year. (Pictured: Juncker leaving the Elysee Palace, Paris, after a European initiative for intervention meeting during the annual Bastille Day military parade last month)
Juncker had been scheduled to go to the Group of Seven meeting in Biarritz, France, next week.
The former Luxembourg premier, whose health has been the subject of rife speculation among EU politicians, had been due to step down at the end of October this year.
German conservative Ursula von der Leyen will replace him in the role, becoming the first woman to lead the institution that imposes EU laws, polices the economies of member states and negotiates trade deals around the world.
What is a gallbladder and why is surgery to remove it carried out?
The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped pouch tucked just under the liver that is used to store bile.
This yellow-green fluid, made by the liver, is used to help the body digest fat, as digestive fluids within it break up fats from your food as it enters the body, and for the absorption of soluble fat.
Surgery to remove it is carried out when gallstones build up within it, which can be caused by an imbalance in bile due to diet.
This is done due to the sometimes severe symptoms associated with gallstones, which include persistent pain, shivering attacks and a sudden rapid increase in heart rate.
The British Liver Trust say on their website that dietary factors, such as eating foods that are high in levels of saturated fat and refined sugars, while being low in fibre, can increase the risk of developing the condition.
Gallstones can also be caused by an imbalance in bile fluid, where cholesterol levels may become much greater than bile acid levels, causing the cholesterol to solidify.
Other symptoms of the condition include a high temperature of 38C, jaundice where the whites of your eyes go yellow, itchy skin, diarrhoea, mental confusion and a loss of appetite.
However, the stones can also sometimes cause no symptoms, according to the NHS.
After a gallbladder is removed, the British healtcare provider adds on its website, the sufferer can lead a perfectly normal life.
Source: British Liver Trust
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