PM to undergo bypass surgery on Saturday | Wish him

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will undergo a coronary artery bypass surgery surgery on Saturday.

The Prime Minister's Office said that Manmohan Singh will undergo the coronary artery bypass surgery on Saturday. He has been admitted to the AIIMS on Friday afternoon for pre-surgery tests.

"The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh would be undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery on January 24, 2009 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. The surgery would be performed by a team of doctors drawn from AIIMS and the Asian Heart Institute, Mumbai. They would be supported by a team of doctors and technical staff drawn from other departments of AIIMS," the PMO statement said.

Dr Ramakant Panda, a specialist in revision bypass surgery, is coming from Asian Heart Institute for the bypass surgery.

Well known cardiologist Dr KS Reddy will be the overall in-charge of the entire operation. The actual operation will be carried out by doctors of Asian Heart Institute.

"The Prime Minister is stable and will undergo a by-pass surgery on Saturday. We have experience of these kind of cases. We expect everything will be alright. The idea of surgery is to rehabilitate him completely to normalcy so that his quality of life is maintained. We expect he will be back to office in 7-10 days. AIIMS will take care of him," says former AIIMS director and cardiologist Dr P Venugopal.

"The recovery he has shown in the past operations testifies the confidence and capabilities and the expertise of AIIMS doctors. The risk factors are common but considering the hypertension and diabities that he has and the position he is occupying otherwise the risk is the same. With his will power he has capability to recover faster," he added.

He will take about six weeks to fully recover and is likely to resume work in March.

At 76 years, he is said one of the fittest prime ministers for his age and works for nearly 18 hours a day despite having undergone a bypass surgery in 1991.

Now five years after an angioplasty, the Prime Minister would again undergo another heart surgery. As part of his medical tests this week, Manmohan has already undergone an angiography.

"The specific treatment approaches are still being identified through careful consideration of several potentially available options," revealed Dr K Srinath Reddy, Head, Prime Minister's health panel.How the Prime Minister's health has fared: