CM Arvind Kejriwal surgery successful, can’t speak for few days

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has been advised not to speak for a few days after he underwent successful corrective surgery for his chronic cough at Narayan Health City in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

According to his doctor, he suffered from “an enlarged soft palate and uvula in relation to a slight increase in the volume of the tongue”.

Mr Kejriwal’s cough, which has persisted for 40 years, has been a result of a series of anatomical abnormalities that included an enlarged tongue and a soft palate, along with other problems in the structure and positioning in his mouth and throat area. “He was operated on Tuesday for persistent cough which has troubled him for over 40 years. The surgery corrected an anatomical abnormality of his oral-pharyngeal (part of the throat) and palatal (top surface of the mouth) that was causing small amounts of saliva to trickle into his air passage whenever his nose-breathing was affected by allergy or other factors,” the hospital said in a statement.

He has been advised not to talk for a couple of days and based on his recovery a further decision will be taken. “The recovery for such a long-standing problem with its own functional accommodation will be gradual. Based on his recovery on Thursday, the doctors will advise him on when he can start talking,” a hospital spokesperson said.

This is Mr Kejriwal’s third visit to Bangalore for medical treatment. Previously, he had been to Jindal Nature Cure Institute, Tumkur Road, for 10- and 12-day periods to treat the cough, as also diabetes.