Doctors: Cassano´s surgery a success

Antonio Cassano’s heart surgery has been described as a success by doctors of the AC Milan and Italy striker.

Cassano underwent surgery on Friday to repair an atrial spetal defect, having fallen ill after his side’s Serie A match with Roma last Saturday.

The 29-year-old experienced ischemic cerebral damage, which is similar to a stroke, and underwent several tests to determine the cause of his ailment.

Cassano is expected to make a full recovery, though he is unlikely to feature for Serie A club Milan again until 2012.

Policlinico San Donato Hospital primary neurologist Nereo Bresolin described the procedure to reporters, and was ‘absolutely’ confident the procedure had been a success.

“Actually this surgery is an interventional haemodynamic procedure of occlusion of the foramen ovale. A catheter is positioned and works as guide in order to insert a small device named Amplatzer, which shuts the incorrect communication between the two atria. It is a simple procedure, but requires good manual skills,” he said.

“We have had an important collaboration between two institutions which have worked together in Milan in order to achieve the best possible result.”

“Absolutely (it has been a success). I’ve directly followed the surgery with (cardiologist Mario) Carminati, who is a great expert, and with AC Milan doctors, whose presence has been essential for reassuring Antonio and letting him face this problem calmly, which has been solved in the best possible way.”

“He is in good spirits, he is an extraordinary guy. I can anticipate that tomorrow morning he will undergo an ECG test to verify the correct placement of the so-called Amplatzer and after that I think he can go home.”

Carminati echoed his colleague’s confidence: “Generally speaking, this procedure is usually performed in a standardized way. It is simple and usually takes only a few minutes,” he said.

“The procedure has totally succeeded. The device has been perfectly placed and therefore we’re optimistic on the result both in the short and long term.”

“At the end of the procedure we have exchanged some words expressing the satisfaction from both sides and the joy for having performed an efficient procedure.”