Saudi king has 'successful' surgery in New York

RIYADH - The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah underwent successful surgery on his back for a herniated disc in New York on Wednesday, the royal court said in Riyadh.

The 86-year-old "successfully underwent back surgery today at New York Presbyterian Hospital in the United States of America," said a statement carried on the official SPA news agency.

"Thanks to God Almighty, the King had a back operation in which a blood clot was extracted, the slipped disc was corrected and the injured vertebrae was stabilised," it said.

King Abdullah flew on Monday to the United States to undergo treatment for a herniated disc that was complicated by a haematoma.

(AFP), 25 November 2010,