Shas leader Yosef remains stable after angioplasty operation
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Two metallic stents were inserted into a major coronary artery of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem on Monday. Yosef, who is in stable condition and conscious, will remain under supervision in the coronary intensive care unit for two or three days due to his age.
The 86-year-old rabbi, who receives insulin therapy for his Type II diabetes, previously had two catheterizations at Hadassah. He was brought to the Ein Kerem medical center over the weekend after feeling chest pain and suffering breathlessness for the second time during the previous week.
The angioplasty was performed by Prof. Chaim Lotan, Hadassah's chief of cardiology, and two other Hadassah doctors. A balloon was inflated inside his narrowed coronary artery to expand it and insert the drug-eluting stents, which are meant to keep the vessel open and prevent reclogging.
Large numbers of people, including members of his large family and supporters, went to the department to pray for his recovery. He was fully conscious during the procedure. He could have undergone the catheterization at Western Galilee Government Hospital in Nahariya after his first bout of pain and breathlessness during a "spiritual tour" in the North, but he preferred to have it done in Jerusalem, where he lives, Lotan said.