Argentina's president to undergo brain surgery

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez sits in a car as she arrives at hospital in Buenos Aires October 7, 2013. Fernandez will undergo surgery on Tuesday to treat a head injury, sidelining her ahead of a key mid-term election and at the apex of a bitter court battle with some of the nation's creditors. The president's condition, described as a subdural hematoma or blood on the brain, may have come from hitting her head during a fall she took in August. On Saturday she was ordered to rest for a month due to her condition. [Photo/Agencies]

BUENOS AIRES - Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez will undergo surgery Tuesday at Buenos Aires' Fundacion Favaloro Hospital, after doctors found a brain hematoma, said a statement issued by the hospital on Monday.

Fernandez's spokesman Alfredo Scoccimarro said in a statement that the hematoma was linked to an August incident in which the president sustained a head injury.

The president was admitted to the Favaloro Hospital just after 1:30 pm (1630GMT), where she will undergo regular pre-surgery cardiovascular studies before Tuesday's surgery.  

The president's doctors had initially ordered a month's rest, but then decided on surgery to treat complications resulting from the hematoma, such as a "slight" loss of strength in her left arm.

The hospital said in a statement that Fernandez "had a tingling sensation in the left arm" Sunday. After neurological-physical tests, the medical team decided Fernandez needed to undergo surgery to drain the subdural hematoma, according to the statement.

On Monday afternoon, Argentina's Vice President Amado Boudou assumed the presidency for the duration of Fernandez's recovery, and headed several official events.

At one event held at the presidential headquarters Casa Rosada, Boudou said "she (Fernandez) wants the government to continue. Her entire team is going to keep the government going."

"Cristina is taking the break she needs and she asked me to continue the administration," said Boudou.