Arvind Kejriwal undergoes 5-hour throat surgery for cough since 40 years

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday underwent a five-hour throat surgery at a private hospital here for a persistent cough, which troubled him for about 40 years.

"The surgery corrected an anatomical abnormality of Kejriwal's oral-pharyngeal and palatal area, which was causing small amounts of saliva to trickle into his air passages whenever his nose breathing was affected by allergy or other factors," said Narayana Health City in a statement.

Kejriwal, who arrived in the city from New Delhi on Tuesday for the long-pending surgery, was first diagnosed by the hospital's Medical Director Paul C. Salins for his bouts of coughing.

"Soon after recovery, Kejriwal spoke to his family members and had a few sips of water. He is expected to be fully functional in a couple of days although recovery of such a long-standing problem with its own functional accommodation will be gradual," the statement noted.

A diabetic, Kejriwal, 48, is likely to be in the hospital for about a week under medical observation.

The surgery involved correction of a septal spur by Suhel Hasan, head of Oto-Laryngology, and the palato-pharyngeal correction along with repositioning the tongue base relationship by reorganisation of the chin area by Salins.

"Computer analytics confirmed that a restricted space for the movement of his tongue and an enlarged soft palate and uvula in relation to a slight increase in the volume of the tongue caused kinematic problems in function" said Salins.

The aim of the correction was functional restoration rather than that of a disease.

In Delhi, a government official said that Kejriwal on Wednesday underwent a five-hour throat surgery and that "doctors say all parameters are normal" but gave no further details.