Pele's prognosis remains positive after surgery

Pele was in stable condition in a hospital on Thursday after undergoing surgery for an enlarged prostate - just the latest health scare for the Brazilian soccer legend.

The 74-year-old had the surgery on Tuesday and is to have tests to see when he can be released from Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, the same facility that treated him for two weeks last year for a urinary infection.

A hospital spokesman said Pele was resting in his room after a "transurethral resection of the prostate," or TURP.

The Urology Care Foundation says the surgery "has excellent outcomes and is the gold standard" in caring for benign prostatic hyperplasia, or non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, a common condition in aging men.

Brazilian media reports said the surgery was aimed at preventing a repeat of the urinary infection that hospitalized Pele last year.

That health scare, which included five days in intensive care, came after he underwent surgery for kidney stones on Nov 13. After developing an infection, he was readmitted to hospital.

His only kidney - the other was removed following a rib injury during his playing days - had stopped working and he had to be treated with hemodialysis, a procedure that involves filtering a patient's blood through an artificial kidney.

After a hospital stay that worried fans worldwide, Pele was released on Dec 9, walking gingerly but joking with reporters: "I am preparing for the Olympics!"

Pele, whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is widely regarded as the greatest soccer athlete of all time.

The only player to win three World Cup titles, he was named athlete of the century by the International Olympic Committee in 1999.

Nicknamed O Rei (The King), Pele was born in a humble home in the city of Tres Coracoes and exploded into Brazilian soccer as a phenom.

He made his professional debut for Santos at age 15 and won his first World Cup two years later, scoring twice in the 1958 final against host Sweden.

He went on to score a total of 77 goals in 91 international games for his soccer-mad country in a career that included two more World Cup titles, in 1962 and 1970.

In 1977, he inspired the New York Cosmos to the North American Soccer League title in his final season with the club, which also featured fellow greats Franz Beckenbauer, Giorgio Chinaglia and Carlos Alberto.

Pele scored a total of 1,281 goals in his sparkling career.

(China Daily 05/09/2015 page8)