BENGALURU: Governor Vajubhai Vala (80) underwent a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery on Monday, and is in the ICU at a private hospital in Bengaluru. Sources said Vala needed no blood transfusion, and was taken off the ventilator soon after surgery.
It may be recalled that Vala had complained of discomfort and undergone a test weeks earlier, where a team of doctors indicated that he would need surgery. It was for this reason that he did not participate in a meeting of governors at Rashtrapathi Bhavan in New Delhi on November 23. Instead, he was consulting with doctors who advised him to undergo surgery immediately.
Accordingly, a team of doctors led by Dr Vivek Jawali, chairman and chief of cardiothoracic surgery, Fortis Hospitals (South), performed the CABG procedure. They bypassed blocks from four points in his arteries. Sources said he is in intensive care, where he is being monitored 24/7.
Meanwhile, the governor’s family members were seen in and around the hospital through Monday and Tuesday. Sources said he was responding well to treatment and will be discharged soon. Doctors said that Vala is a known diabetic, and has been on medication for the endocrine issue for a long period, which is why he sticks to his diet fixed by his endocrinologists and nutritionists. Experts said his protein levels were being monitored.
Asked about gubernatorial duties during his absence, informed sources said that only when the governor leaves the country, is someone appointed in-charge by the President, but since he is in Bengaluru, there was no need for an in-charge governor.
It may be recalled that when then governor Khurshid Alam Khan left the country to go abroad, Chief Justice Bharucha was placed in-charge governor.