Doctors assess Castro health report

MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- A Spanish newspaper's report that Fidel Castro is wasting away from life-threatening complications after multiple intestine-related surgeries means he has few chances of recovering, four South Florida medical experts said Tuesday.
If the anonymous sources that El Pais quoted are accurate, Castro is experiencing problems with his intestines and gall bladder, significantly decreasing his chances for survival, Dr. Miguel J. Rodriguez, a gastroenterologist at Homestead Hospital, told The Miami Herald.
"The chances are he won't survive this illness," Rodriguez said, adding that the Cuban leader would have an "80 [percent] to 95 percent chance of dying" from his ailments.
Three other South Florida medical experts agreed that the El Pais story portrays a very ill Castro.
The El Pais report Monday said its information came from two people who work at the same Madrid hospital as Dr. Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, who publicly acknowledged examining Castro in December. He denied that Castro has cancer and said he was recovering well but declined to provide details.
Havana remained silent Tuesday on the latest press reports on Castro's health. But a Cuban diplomat in Madrid called the El Pais report "an invented story," according to The Associated Press.