NEW YORK - Former US president Bill Clinton will undergo surgery on Thursday, six months after a quadruple bypass operation on his heart performed to avert a potential health crisis due to clogged arteries.
The procedure will "remove fluid and scar tissue from his left chest cavity" that was an occasional consequence of open-heart surgery, according to a statement released by the Clinton Foundation.
On the eve on the procedure, the former president gave an upbeat assessment of his health, assuring, "I'll be fine tomorrow."
Braving cold rain, he even played a round of golf at a charitable event organized by golf star Greg Norman. "I'm way ahead this time. I get to play golf before I go to the hospital," Clinton quipped.
Clinton underwent a four-hour quadruple bypass operation last September, after complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.
The fast-food lover has since completely changed his eating habits and started intense exercise.
Clinton supporters said the fluid buildup had caused the former president some discomfort in recent weeks, but he has otherwise been in very good condition.
Clinton has recently passed a stress test and was walking up to four miles (6.5 kilometers) a day near his home in Chappaqua, New York, they pointed out.
Thursday's procedure will be performed at the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. It will be done either with an incision or with a video-assisted thoracoscope inserted between the ribs.
The foundation said the procedure was low risk, adding: "Once fully recovered, president Clinton is expected to resume his work without limitations."
The former president said doctors found the fluid buildup during a regular checkup.
"All they have to do is drain it," said Clinton. "It's no big deal. I'm not in too bad a shape."
Clinton said his doctors told him that he was healthy enough to be in the top five percent of people his age, and dismissed the operation as "a routine sort of deal."
"It'll knock me out of commission for a week or two," Clinton said, but as soon "as I get it done, I'm going to go back to work."
Former president George Bush, with whom Clinton had toured countries devastated by the December 26 tsunami, compared his former Democratic rival to the "Energizer bunny" -- a reference to the tireless mascot of the battery company.
"You should have seen him going, town to town, country to country. The Energizer bunny, nearly killed me," Bush quipped.
US Senator John Kerry, who ran for president as the Democratic nominee last year, wished Clinton well and expressed confidence "he'll soon remind everyone why he's still 'The Comeback Kid.'"
The Clinton Foundation urged the president's supporters to send donations to the American Heart Association in lieu of flowers or gifts to Clinton himself.
03/10/2005 10:21 GMT