Comedian Robin Williams recovering after Cleveland Clinic heart surgery

: Robin Williams

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Comedian and actor Robin Williams is recovering after a March 13 heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

On March 5, Williams, 57, postponed a tour of his acclaimed one-man comedy show, Weapons of Self-Destruction, saying he needed an aortic valve replacement.

He got not only a new valve for his aorta — the largest artery leading away from the heart — he also had mitral valve repair and treatment for an irregular heartbeat, according to a statement by his publicist.

“Mr. Williams’ operation went extremely well and we expect him to make a full recovery,” said Dr. Marc Gillinov, a cardiothoracic surgeon at the Clinic, in the statement.

Williams initially was treated at the University of Miami Hospital before being transferred to the Clinic.

The actor’s older brother died in 2007 of complications from heart surgery, Reuters reported.

Williams expects to resume his comedy show tour in the fall.

Publicity photograph from www.robinwilliams.com.

Mary Vanac

Mary Vanac is a co-founder of MedCity News.

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Tags: Cleveland, Cleveland Clinic, hospitals, Marc Gillinov, Northeast Ohio, Ohio

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[...] Gillinov is an authority in mitral valve repair surgery as well as other heart procedures including atrial fibrillation coronary bypass surgery. He receives royalties for his discoveries from Kapp Surgical Instruments, his inventions are the basis of Clear Catheter Solutions, and he a co-founder of Viacor. Also, he’s consulted for Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic and St. Jude Medical — though he’s likely best known as one of the surgeons who worked on comedian Robin Williams. [...]

Comment by Cleveland Clinic surgeon joins scientific board of vascular device company : MedCity News — September 24, 2009 @ 9:12 am