Netanyahu undergoes gastrointestinal checkup, small polyp removed from colon

PM Netanyahu, 64, underwent routine exam for annual check-up, unrelated to last week's brief hospitalization for sinus infection.

By HERB KEINON
Netanyahu at Cabinet meeting Dec 15 370 (photo credit: Reuters)
Netanyahu at Cabinet meeting Dec 15 370
(photo credit: Reuters)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu underwent a routine colonoscopy on Wednesday, during which a small polyp was completely removed from his colon.
The procedure was carried out in the morning at Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek Medical Center by the head of the gastroenterology department, Dr. Eran Goldin.
Netanyahu, 64, was released from the hospital and spent the afternoon working from home. He has meetings scheduled on Thursday, including with US Secretary of State John Kerry Netanyahu’s authority as prime minister was briefly transferred to Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman while the prime minister was under sedation.
Wednesday’s test completed Netanyahu’s annual check-up, with the PMO quoting his personal physician, Dr.
Zvi Herman- Berkowitz, as saying the prime minister’s blood, sugar, and blood-pressure tests were all normal. The statement said the prime minister maintains a healthy life-style, including proper nutrition and regular exercise.
He recently underwent a stress test that found him in the top ten percentile for his age group.
On Friday night Netanyahu checked into Hadera’s Hillel Yaffe Hospital complaining of headaches and sinus pressure, and was released two-hours later after undergoing an examination. In August he underwent an emergency hernia operation.
Annual public reports on the prime minister’s health were instituted by former prime minister Ehud Olmert following the strokes that incapacitated his predecessor, Ariel Sharon, in 2005 and 2006. At the time there was criticism that the public was not made aware on a regular basis of the prime minister’s health condition.