 Mubarak has been Egypt's leader since 1981 |
Doctors treating Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak have put off plans for an operation, Egyptian media says. The operation, to repair a slipped vertebral disc, was scheduled to take place in Munich, Germany, on Monday.
But official Mena news agency quoted a German doctor as saying they would wait for two or three days to see if other treatment could be useful.
An announcement that Mr Mubarak, 76, would undergo surgery follows official denials that he was in poor health.
He postponed a number of meetings this month.
Before leaving for Germany, he delegated his powers to the prime minister.
Atef Obeid will take up "constitutional and legal powers and jurisdictions... until he returns," state TV announced.
Government-owned newspapers dismissed reports that Mr Mubarak had been admitted to hospital earlier last week as a ploy to undermine Egypt's stability.
Health Minister Mohammed Awad Tajeddin told Mena that the surgery was a simple operation to remove displaced cartilage by inserting a microscopic endoscope.
He gave no details of when Mr Mubarak might be ready to return home from Munich.
And, according to Mena, the German doctor said: "I believe that we need to give a chance for two or three days before surgical intervention, because medical treatment could be useful in President Mubarak's condition."