Uddhav Thackeray undergoes angioplasty, docs say he is fine

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray underwent a successful angioplasty at the suburban Lilavati hospital on Friday morning.

“His angioplasty was successful with medicated stents fixed in his heart. His heart is functioning normally and he even spoke with his family members including Bal Thacke-ray after the procedure,” said Dr Mathew Samuel, a coronary intensivist, who operated on Uddhav on Friday along with Dr Ajit Menon.

Samuel added that Uddhav would be under observation for 48 hours, and will be given a discharge on Sunday. He did not mention the exact number of stents used, but Sena sources said five stents were fixed into the three blockages in the 90-minute procedure, which took place on the first floor cath lab of the hospital.

Two of the three were 100% blockages, and were fixed with two stents each, it is learnt, while the third was fixed with one stent.

An angioplasty is a non-surgical procedure where a balloon is pushed into a blood vessel to flatten the blockage, leaving a stent to open the narrowed or blocked artery.

After the procedure ended, Uddhav was shifted to the Intensive care unit (ICU) and then to a special room on the 11th floor.

His wife Rashmi and sons Aditya and Tejas, along with his cousin Raj Thackeray, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, were present by his side and spoke to him after the procedure, sources said.

Senior Sena leader and legislator Subhash Desai said: “The entire family was present during the procedure, which went on smoothly, and the doctors have expressed satisfaction over the end result.”

Although Raj did not drive Uddhav into the hospital on Friday morning, he made sure all arrangements were taken care of for the procedure, it is learnt. He left the hospital at about 1pm, and is likely to visit Uddhav today.

The Sena executive president was first admitted to the hospital on July 16 after he complained of chest pain, and went through an angiography, which revealed had three blocks.