John Tsang on mend after heart op

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who underwent emergency heart surgery on Sunday night, has made a good recovery and joked with senior colleagues yesterday, his doctor and officials who visited him said.

'He is in stable condition and feels relaxed. He even joked with us,' Chief Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said after visiting Tsang in Queen Mary Hospital. He was accompanied by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Professor Chan Ka-keung, who is acting financial secretary, and health minister Dr York Chow Yat-ngok.

Dr Stephen Lee Wai-Luen, head of the hospital's cardiology division, said Tsang suffered from acute myocardial infarction - restriction of blood flow to the heart muscle - which led to a heart attack. 'His situation was quite urgent when he was admitted,' Lee said. 'The operation went very smoothly and he should be able to recover fully.'

Tsang underwent percutaneous balloon angioplasty, a procedure in which narrowed arteries are widened by inserting balloons, on Sunday night, shortly after returning from the G20 summit in the United States.

A person close to Tsang said the financial secretary was recovering quickly and could express himself fluently. 'He plans to write thank-you cards to nurses who take care of him,' the person said.

After a telephone conversation with Tsang yesterday morning, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, who is in Beijing, said the financial secretary would resume work very soon. 'Don't worry ... it seems that his operation was very smooth and he is very eager to return to work. I have already told him to rest as much as possible, and I hope he won't come to Beijing for the [60th anniversary] celebrations,' he said.