Chavez is temporarily having difficulty speaking after doctors inserted a tracheal tube, Venezuelan Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said that as the Venezuelan leader was breathing through a tracheal tube, it was difficult for him to speak.

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Along with images of the puffy-faced Chavez came a government explanation for why no one has heard from the longtime president since his surgery: He's breathing through a tracheal tube that makes speech difficult.

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This resulted in a significant tracheal occlusion and chronic infection of the trachea and lungs, along with a wide fissure in the neck.

ENGADGET: Regenerative medicine pioneer continues changing lives with first successful laryngotracheal implants

Hannah was born in Seoul with a rare condition called tracheal agenesis, or the lack of a trachea.

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In one type of laryngoplasty, an implant made of a surgical polymer is placed inside the tracheal wall (as support) to medialize the affected vocal cord.

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As a result, he sustained multiple fractures and was in a coma for two weeks, leading to tracheal stenosis.

ENGADGET: Regenerative medicine pioneer continues changing lives with first successful laryngotracheal implants