Mexican president undergoes gallbladder surgery

 Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto has undergone gallbladder surgery after suffering discomfort early Friday, June 26, 2015. AP

MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto underwent surgery to remove his gallbladder early Friday after suffering “intense discomfort,” surgeon Hector Noyola said.

The cause involved an inflammation, not gall stones, he said. “It was an acute case that had no solution other than surgery.”

Peña Nieto, 48, was recovering well following the procedure at the Central Military Hospital in Mexico City and would return to work Monday, in time to receive a visit by Spanish King Felipe VI, said presidential spokesman Eduardo Sanchez.

Another surgeon, Fernando Arcaute, said the president would be in the hospital between one and two days.

Sanchez said the president was fully in charge and would not cede responsibilities during his recovery. Mexico’s Constitution says nothing about the presidential powers during such brief periods of incapacity.

In his Twitter account, the president wrote: “After a successful operation this morning to remove my gall bladder, I am recovering in my hospital room.”

Arcaute described Pena Nieto as “fully healthy,” with no other health problems detected.

The illness forced Pena Nieto to cancel plans to travel to Guatemala on Friday for a regional summit of national leaders.

It was the second surgery for Pena Nieto since he took office in December 2012.

In July 2013, the president underwent surgery to remove a thyroid nodule, which showed no signs of malignancy.