Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin released from hospital

CNN —

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, according to the Pentagon, two weeks after he was admitted for complications following prostate cancer surgery.

Austin will work remotely “for a period of time” before returning to the Pentagon, the Pentagon statement said. He has “full access” to secure communications capabilities.

His doctors said Monday that he is “expected to make a full recovery.”

“Secretary Austin’s prostate cancer was treated early and effectively, and his prognosis is excellent,” said a statement from Dr. John Maddox, Trauma Medical Director, and Dr. Gregory Chesnut, Director of the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Murtha Cancer Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. “He has no planned further treatment for his cancer other than regular post-prostatectomy surveillance.”

Austin said in a statement on Monday that he is “grateful for the excellent care I received at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and want to thank the outstanding doctors and nursing staff for their professionalism and superb support.”

“Now, as I continue to recuperate and perform my duties from home, I’m eager to fully recover and return as quickly as possible to the Pentagon,” he said.

His discharge comes after Austin was hospitalized on January 1 for complications from a prostate cancer procedure in December. The Pentagon did not notify the media until January 5 and despite the seriousness of his hospitalization, it was later revealed that Austin had not notified Congress or the White House about his diagnosis, initial procedure, or subsequent complications and hospitalization.

The failure to notify kicked off a