Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who underwent a successful coronary bypass surgery to overcome multiple blockages to his heart, is doing fine, has been taken off the ventilator and put on liquid diet, doctors attending to him said today.
The 76-year-old Prime Minister "is doing fine now. He is conscious. He also met his family and congratulated all the doctors", Dr Ramakant Panda, a specialist of Mumbai's Asian Heart Institute, who led the team of doctors during the surgery at AIIMS here, told PTI.
Satisfied with his "improving condition", doctors earlier withdrew the ventilator support to Singh, he said.
"Ventilator has been taken off and he is breathing on his own. This is an important step," Panda said.
Dr Vijay D'Silva, who attended to the Prime Minister throughout the night, said that Singh has been given liquid diet since morning and was speaking to doctors. The Prime Minister also had a cup of tea in the morning, he said.
"The way you (doctors) are taking care of me, you should take care of other people also," D'Silva quoted Singh as saying.
D'Silva, an ICU specialist, said the Prime Minister was in a "happy mood" and was "happy with his treatment".
