Karnataka's 111-year-old pontiff recovers from liver operation

Karnataka's 111-year-old revered pontiff Shivakumar Swami of Siddaganga Mutt at Tumakuru recovered from a liver operation he underwent at a hospital in Chennai, an official said on Saturday.

"The pontiff has recovered from the effects of anaesthesia, administered for the liver operation earlier in the day, and is awake in the intensive care unit," said Rela Institute of Medical Centre Chairman Mohamed Rela in a statement.

The pontiff was flown to Chennai from Bengaluru on Friday in an air ambulance for the operation to treat his liver and bile duct infection. Tumakuri is located about 70 km west of Bengaluru.

"We brought Swamiji to Bengaluru from Tumakuru in a signal-free corridor for airlifting him to Chennai so that he could rest ahead of the operation," a mutt spokesman told IANS here.

Though the operation was for four hours, the seer was stable throughout the surgery, which involved exploring his bile ducts, removal of metal and plastic stents within the bile duct and a bypass between the bile duct in the liver and small intestine.

"The seer would be under observation in ICU till the surgical wounds are healed and his other vital organs function normally in commensurate with his advanced age," said the mutt official.

The holy man has been in and out of hospitals of late for treatment of symptoms related to his advanced age.-IANS