President Nelson Mandela went home for a week of rest Thursday after cataract surgery complicated by eye damage from his years breaking rocks as a prisoner.
Mandela, who turns 76 on Monday, said before the surgery Wednesday he expected to miss only a day of work.But a form of conjunctivitis that destroyed his tear glands made the three-hour procedure "very difficult" and forced surgeons to work only on the left eye, Dr. Percy Amoils said. He said surgery on the right eye would be rescheduled.
Smashing limestone rocks at Robben Island prison over nearly two decades caused the tear gland damage, leaving Mandela's eyes dry and prone to irritation, said Amoils.
"His tear glands were burned out by the alkaline nature of the limestone," Amoils told reporters.
He said Mandela, whose general health was "excellent," would wear an eye patch during his convalescence, expected to last a week.
Mandela has kept a punishing schedule since his release from 27 years' imprisonment in February 1990, culminating in a four-month campaign for the nation's first all-race election in April. Doctors have ordered him to rest several times because of exhaustion and illness.
His African National Congress won the April vote, and Mandela became the nation's first black president. Since his May 10 inauguration, he has worked almost ceaselessly to launch the first post-apartheid government.