Saturday, March 13, 2004

Medical mysteries in high places (2): Ashcroft and pancreatitis

A little free association here.  Attorney General John anybody-who-criticizes-me-is-aiding-the-enemy Ashcroft is in the hospital (my emphasis):

Attorney General John Ashcroft has been hospitalized with a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis, his chief spokesman said Friday. ...

Pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, is usually caused when a gallstone blocks the passage leading from the pancreas to the beginning of the small intestine. It also may be caused by excessive alcohol consumption, infection, injury or certain medications.

He had surgery to remove his gallbladder. His doctor "said Ashcroft's surgery was performed as a preventive measure to reduce the risk of recurrent pancreatitis."

Acute pancreatitis (my emphasis):

The chief causes of acute pancreatitis in adults are gallstones, other gallbladder (biliary) disease, and alcohol use.

Chronic pancreatitis (my emphasis):

Chronic pancreatitis is most often caused by alcholoism and alcohol abuse, but sometimes the cause cannot be determined.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

he has actually always had the face of a drinker to me. and i know whereof i speak, coming from a long line of irish alcoholics.

Anonymous said...

He's a genuinely weird guy, whatever causes it. It may not be an entirely bad thing that his weirdness makes him focus on nekkid statues and the like. Otherwise, he might focus on more substantive policies that would do much more harm than good. I'm not being snarky - I really think he's that strange. - Bruce