Saudi King's surgery 'successful'

King Abdullah's second round of back surgery was successful, Saudi Arabia's royal court has announced.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia // Saudi King Abdullah's second round of back surgery in New York was successful and he will begin rehabilitation, the royal court announced late on Friday.

The surgery "was completed successfully and now the king will begin a second phase of physiotherapy," the court said in a statement on the official SPA news agency.

The court announced earlier in the day that Abdullah, 86, had to undergo an operation "to repair several vertebrae in his spine" following the first procedure nine days ago to fix a herniated disc.

Abdullah flew to New York City on November 22 and was operated on two days later at New York Presbyterian Hospital for a debilitating herniated disc complicated by a haematoma that put pressure on his spine.

Friday's procedure was part of the process and had been planned by his team of doctors, the court said.