Former Czech President Milos Zeman was hospitalised yesterday due to a sudden blood clot in his leg, and was operated on at the Motol University Hospital in Prague, hospital spokeswoman Pavlina Dankova told CTK in the evening.
Zeman’s spokesman Jiri Ovcacek said earlier that the hospitalisation was also related to diabetes, from which the 79-year-old ex-president has suffered for a long time, and that he would remain in hospital for about a week.
“Former President Milos Zeman was hospitalised for complications related to a sudden lack of blood flow in his lower limb caused by a blood clot, and for this reason, he underwent surgery,” Dankova said.
Doctors will provide further information today, she added.
Zeman was still working in his presidential office in Prague-Dejvice on Wednesday, where he received Alena Schillerova, chair of the opposition ANO parliamentary group, among others.
The Blesk tabloid reported that Zeman underwent an examination at the hospital yesterday, which revealed an unspecified complication, due to which he stayed in the Motol hospital.
“The president has been hospitalised due to some difficulties and a review is underway. The health problems are also related to diabetes. A one-week hospitalisation is expected,” Ovcacek told CTK.
“President Zeman’s current health needs do not fall under the services of a general practitioner that we provide at this time. In addition, I am strictly bound by medical confidentiality and I cannot disclose information about his health condition without the patient’s consent,” Zeman’s attending general practitioner Boris Stastny told CTK.
Zeman was hospitalised several times during his ten-year presidency (2013-2023).
At the beginning of his first term in office, doctors announced that Zeman was suffering from neuropathy, which caused him to lose feeling in his legs, a common neurological complication of diabetes.
Zeman himself stated in September 2016 that his diabetes had improved while his neuropathy remained the same, and in November 2017 he spoke of his diabetes having “gone away”. His doctor Miloslav Kalas explained at the time that dieting and weight loss had contributed to the lower glycemic index values.
In April 2021, Zeman announced that he had decided to use a wheelchair.
He was in a very serious condition after the 2021 general election, when he spent 48 days in the Central Military Hospital, initially in the intensive care clinic. Doctors justified the need for care on the grounds of complications related to the president’s chronic illness, which they did not specify.
From the hospital, Zeman returned to the Lany presidential manor near Prague, where he spent most of his time until the end of his term. He was in the care of nurses there around the clock.
