Arvind Kejriwal undergoes surgery for persistent cough problem

BENGALURU: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today underwent a surgery for persistent cough that has troubled him for over 40 years, the hospital here where he is being treated said.

The surgery corrected an anatomical abnormality of his 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, Narayana Health City said in a statement.

Noting that the surgery was uneventful, the hospital said 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 added.

Paul C Salins, Medical Director & Vice President - Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center, Narayana Health City, made the diagnosis initially on the basis of observing the pattern of his bouts of coughing, it said.

It was confirmed by detailed computer analytics of cephalometrics, modeling simulation, as also dynamic MRI and Video Fluroscopic examinations, the statement said.

Kejriwal had arrived in the city yesterday to undergo the surgery.

The AAP leader had earlier undergone naturotherapy treatment twice at city's Jindal Institute for cough and sugar level.

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, the hospital said.

The surgery involved correction of a significant septal and the palato-pharyngeal correction along with repositioning the tongue base relationship by reorganisation of the chin area, it said.

According to the hospital, the aim of the correction was functional restoration.