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Question for the Docs: some random speculation
Old 06-24-2011, 06:58 AM   #1
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Question for the Docs: some random speculation

Venezuelan dictator thug President Chavez has been in Cuba for 2 weeks receiving medical treatment. The attributed cause is "Pelvic Abscess". There is total silence in Cuba on this. His absence is very uncharacteristic and is raising all kinds of speculation.

Perhaps one of the medical professionals here could shed some light on what a pelvic abscess is and also speculate on the kind of complication he might be dealing with (assuming they are telling the truth).

His twitter account sent a message this morning so he is probably alive. Today is a national holiday celebrating an important battle (Batalla de Carabobo) and no words from him to the Military are like throwing jet fuel on the fire.

See here for limited background Where is Hugo Chavez? - CSMonitor.com
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:23 AM   #2
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I saw this in the WSJ and wondered as well. Very interesting to me that he'd go to Cuba instead of being treated in Venezuela, I thought.
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:41 AM   #3
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No medical training here, but I've seen published comments that indicate a "pelvic abscess" is more likely a symptom in reaction to another condition, rather than being an actual diagnosis per se.

Cuba has been providing medical personnel to other Latin American countries for decades, including Venezuela, so that part is understandable.
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:42 AM   #4
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Odd term to use in a male, pelvic abscess, but one possibility is a diverticulum that perforated and created an abscess in the lower abdomen (pelvis). This is treated with surgery and antibiotics.

More likely, it's an evasive term and they are not being "forthright."
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:45 AM   #5
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No medical training here, but I've seen published comments that indicate a "pelvic abscess" is more likely a symptom in reaction to another condition, rather than being an actual diagnosis per se.

Cuba has been providing medical personnel to other Latin American countries for decades, including Venezuela, so that part is understandable.
Yeah, I know Cuba's docs are good, but I guess if I was a powerful dictator, I'd have the docs come to me, rather than leave my somewhat unstable dictatorship to go there.

I mean, I can't see an American president leaving this country to get treatment in Europe or something.
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Old 06-24-2011, 09:45 AM   #6
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Odd term to use in a male, pelvic abscess, but one possibility is a diverticulum that perforated and created an abscess in the lower abdomen (pelvis). This is treated with surgery and antibiotics.

More likely, it's an evasive term and they are not being "forthright."
Actually, some have wondered about his manliness.

Thanks for the clarification, Rich, and agree with you regarding their evasiveness. In effect, those in the know aren't talking.

As to Cuba, no doubt. Medical care in Venezuela is superior (Castro was there for heart surgery) but only in the private sector and decreasingly so. There has been a great deal of hostility by the Chavez gov't and supporters toward Doctors and clinics (part of the squalid oligarchy)

Medical attention is much better in Brazil. I guess this lays to rest to whole "Brazil and Venezuela are best buds" theory. Cuba is the only place Chavez can look to for help, because it's the only place that has a vested interest in keeping him alive and governing. Everyone else in the west wants him out of the way.
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Old 06-24-2011, 10:18 AM   #7
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It is probably difficult to ever get any true medical info about these 3rd world leaders. How many times was Kim Jong and Castro himself rumored to already be dead from their illnesses and they are both still alive.
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Old 06-24-2011, 10:22 AM   #8
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It is probably difficult to ever get any true medical info about these 3rd world leaders.....
FTFY
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Old 06-24-2011, 05:14 PM   #9
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I agree. Or maybe the confusion comes from a bad translation of "hernia del piso pelvico" (= inguinal hernia ?).

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Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
Odd term to use in a male, pelvic abscess, but one possibility is a diverticulum that perforated and created an abscess in the lower abdomen (pelvis). This is treated with surgery and antibiotics.

More likely, it's an evasive term and they are not being "forthright."
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Old 06-24-2011, 05:29 PM   #10
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I agree. Or maybe the confusion comes from a bad translation of "hernia del piso pelvico" (= inguinal hernia ?).
It's not the translation. Here's an example I took from El Pais (Spain)

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la noticia de que el presidente venezolano fue operado en La Habana el viernes debido a "un absceso pélvico" -sin más especificaciones- fue una absoluta sorpresa.
I suspect you and Rich got it immediately - just your basic obfuscation.
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Old 06-24-2011, 08:55 PM   #11
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I think "pelvic abscess" is a very advanced pole dancing move.
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Old 06-24-2011, 09:46 PM   #12
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Clap on, clap off.
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Old 06-25-2011, 08:35 AM   #13
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We will know in a couple of weeks. One big downside of autocratic gov't is the power vacuum creates lots of opportunities. Venezuela has no shortage of ambitious aspiring replacement candidates. If he does not return soon he will be pushed aside.

Lots of speculation he is being treated for prostate cancer.
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Old 06-25-2011, 09:19 AM   #14
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I'm not a doctor, but I think I had something similar to a pelvic abscess. I had a ruptured appendix that became infected and developed a phlegmon. (according to the web, an abscess can be drained and a phlegmon cannot.) I took antibiotics for several weeks until the mass diminished and I began to feel better. Then I had a laproscopic appendectomy.

So maybe Hugo is going through something similar.
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Old 06-25-2011, 04:06 PM   #15
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I think "pelvic abscess" is a very advanced pole dancing move.
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Clap on, clap off.
That was my thought...
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Old 06-25-2011, 06:22 PM   #16
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I'm not a doctor, but I think I had something similar to a pelvic abscess. I had a ruptured appendix that became infected and developed a phlegmon. (according to the web, an abscess can be drained and a phlegmon cannot.) I took antibiotics for several weeks until the mass diminished and I began to feel better. Then I had a laproscopic appendectomy.

So maybe Hugo is going through something similar.
I'm glad you made it through that awful experience. Sounds scary.
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Old 06-26-2011, 10:29 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
Odd term to use in a male, pelvic abscess, but one possibility is a diverticulum that perforated and created an abscess in the lower abdomen (pelvis). This is treated with surgery and antibiotics.

More likely, it's an evasive term and they are not being "forthright."
That or complications from a prostate procedure.

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Old 06-26-2011, 03:28 PM   #18
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I'm glad you made it through that awful experience. Sounds scary.
Thanks! It was only scary up until the antibiotics took hold. And the colonoscopy prep.
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Old 06-26-2011, 04:47 PM   #19
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Yeah, I know Cuba's docs are good, but I guess if I was a powerful dictator, I'd have the docs come to me, rather than leave my somewhat unstable dictatorship to go there.

I mean, I can't see an American president leaving this country to get treatment in Europe or something.
It's amazing to me how bias people can be relying solely on the depiction of Chavez in the American media. BTW, he was democratically elected and is a hero to the vast majority of Latin Americans. People feel so comfortable referring to Chavez as a dictator and thug and completely ignore the fact that the rest of the world considered George Bush exactly that.
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Old 06-26-2011, 04:52 PM   #20
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It's amazing to me how bias people can be relying solely on the depiction of Chavez in the American media. BTW, he was democratically elected and is a hero to the vast majority of Latin Americans. People feel so comfortable referring to Chavez as a dictator and thug and completely ignore the fact that the rest of the world considered George Bush exactly that.
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