Media mogul and three-time Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi underwent heart surgery at a Milan hospital to replace his aortic valve on June 14, reports ABC News.
Silvio Berlusconi undergoes heart surgery
STEPANAKERT, JUNE 14, ARTSAKHPRESS: San Raffaele hospital said the surgery lasted about four hours and that Berlusconi was transferred to cardiac intensive care after it ended. A statement from the hospital provided no details; the ANSA news agency said there were no complications.
Berlusconi, 79, was admitted to the hospital on June 5 suffering from what his doctors said was a potentially fatal heart-valve problem.
Berlusconi's personal doctor, Alberto Zangrillo, was attending the surgery to replace Berlusconi's aortic valve, which wasn't closing properly.
Some three hours after the surgery began, a longtime close aide to Berlusconi, Gianni Letta, told reporters in Rome that he had just received a phone call from the hospital. "I was anxious. Everything fine, now I am more tranquil," ANSA quoted Letta as saying.
Family members made no comment as they arrived at the hospital. At one point, Berlusconi's companion, Francesca Pascale, clutching a handkerchief or facial tissue, was seen at a hospital window.
Zangrillo has indicated that, assuming surgery is successful, Berlusconi could resume an active life in about a month.
