Almost a month after his heart bypass surgery, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may soon be back to work with doctors attending on him today declaring him fit.
Even while he was in hospital, the prime minister had expressed his desire to return to office as early as possible.
“The prime minister’s four weeks’ recovery time is over. Four weeks mean there is a good amount of healing. He is now more or less independent and he can resume work,” Dr Vijay D’silva, ICU specialist and one of the doctors from Mumbai’s Asian Heart Institute (AHI) attending on the PM, said today.
Government sources revealed, during the past two weeks, Singh had started signing important files and meeting senior ministers.
On January 24, Singh had to undergo a ‘redo’ coronary artery bypass surgery at the capital’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences to remove five blockages in his heart. Doctors from AHI had led the operation, which ran for about 14 hours.
While he has been declared fit to resume work, the prime minister will now be on diet restrictions and will have to undergo physiotherapy and exercises for at least one more week.
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“He is already a vegetarian and initially he was put on diet that would give him strength to recover from the strain of the surgery. Now, he will have restrictions in diet and avoid things high on cholesterol. However, this is not needed because he is always diet conscious,” D’silva said.
“In another one month, he will be completely independent,” the doctor added.
D’Silva also informed that the sternum bone (chest or breastbone) which helps to protect lungs, heart and major blood vessels from physical trauma, was cut open to gain access to the thoracic contents, has also been “fixed”.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was given additional responsibility of the finance ministry in PM’s absence. He may give up the portfolio once Singh resumes work.