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CARNESALE
Chancellor

Chancellor Albert Carnesale, who underwent open heart surgery Tuesday at the UCLA Medical Center, left the intensive care unit Wednesday morning and is expected to make a “rapid recovery,” according to a statement by the chief of cardiac surgery.

The surgery, an aortic heart valve replacement, is considered to be a relatively low-risk procedure for a healthy person.

Carnesale said in a Dec. 2 interview that he made the decision to have surgery after an October physical, though the condition was diagnosed eight years ago. Carnesale also said he is in otherwise good health.

The surgery went “very well” and if the chancellor’s recovery continues as it is now, he will remain at the hospital for another four to five days, according to Dr. Hillel Laks, the medical center’s chief of cardiac surgery, in the statement.

A full recovery usually takes two to three months. Carnesale said before the surgery that he did not expect it to interfere with his duties as chancellor.

Carnesale, 69, announced over the summer that he would be stepping down at the end of the 2005-2006 academic year, though he has said his heart condition had nothing to do with that decision.

Compiled by Bruin Senior Staff.