Silvio Berlusconi will have heart surgery to replace an aortic valve, his doctor has confirmed.
The Milan President was taken ill this week, and it was reported yesterday that he would require surgery.
“On Sunday, President Berlusconi was in Rome and displaying clear signs of heart failure,” Dr Alberto Zangrillo explained to reporters.
“I spoke with him – this was in the morning – and advised him to return to Milan for direct transit to San Raffaele.
Silvio Berlusconi will have heart surgery to replace an aortic valve, his doctor has confirmed.
The Milan President was taken ill this week, and it was reported yesterday that he would require surgery.
“On Sunday, President Berlusconi was in Rome and displaying clear signs of heart failure,” Dr Alberto Zangrillo explained to reporters.
“I spoke with him – this was in the morning – and advised him to return to Milan for direct transit to San Raffaele.
“Obviously he didn’t listen to me, in part because he wanted to vote. He only joined up with us later, in the afternoon.
"Berlusconi almost died. He risked his life. He came in in a pretty serious condition. He risked his life, and he knew it.
“Since then, we’ve begun a series of progressive investigations, concluding in a rational strategy from what the physician has observed.
“We were able to complete all our investigations on the cardiovascular area. They lasted until yesterday and allowed us to accurately identify an aortic valve disease called aortic insufficiency.
“This condition can have varying degrees of severity, and in this case the signs pointed to severe aortic insufficiency.
“In this case, the only way to fix the aortic valve is surgery. The surgery will be performed by Professor Ottavio Alfieri and his team.
“It will last about four hours, after which the patient will be taken to the ICU, and then held there for a day or two.
“After that he could be transferred to a ward. The operation will take place in the middle of next week.
"How did he take it? At first he didn't believe it. For someone who wants to live to 130, it's an unfortunate incident. But he actually took it with great courage and determination.
"The risk of the operation is low, but there's that two per cent which bothers me. When you do the statistics, you don't count all patients in the same way.
"There's age, though it's not the decisive factor, and the conditions of the organs, in this case there's no problem in that regard."
The Milan President is in negotiations to sell the club to a Chinese consortium, but it's not thought his health will put the deal in jeopardy.