Mayor Don Plusquellic is in the Coronary
Intensive Care Unit at Akron General Medical Center following double-bypass surgery
performed by Dr. Robert Kamienski (kuh MIN skee) Tuesday afternoon. This morning Dr.
Kamienski said the mayor has been "very stable" and in good spirits. "He
was up and walking the Cardiac Surgical Unit floor early this morning, had a light
breakfast of cereal and fruit and is resting comfortably," said Dr. Kamienski.
"He is progressing quite well and will be transferred out of the Cardiac Surgical
Unit to a regular patient care unit later today."Mayor Plusquellic was admitted to
the hospital for surgery following a heart catheterization Tuesday morning. Cardiologist
Dr. Terry Gordon discovered a 60% blockage in a major coronary artery and lesser blockages
in two other more minor arteries while performing the catheterization and then discussed
the results with Mayor Plusquellic.
"The mayor asked if we could perform the surgery Tuesday afternoon, and we
happened to have an opening in the schedule," said Dr. Gordon. "I would not
categorize this as an emergency situation. The mayor had some options on when he wanted to
have this done."
The surgery began at 4 p.m. and ended at 6:15 p.m. and was pronounced successful by Dr.
Kamienski. When asked by a reporter how this might affect his re-election campaign, Dr.
Kamienski said, "He’ll be an even stronger campaigner."
The mayor did not suffer a heart attack, and doctors said his heart muscle is in
excellent shape. "The mayor had chest pains, paid attention to his symptoms and came
in to have it checked out," said Dr. Gordon. "He did exactly what we tell our
patients to do. Had he not paid attention to his symptoms, the outcome would have been
different. As it is, he’ll likely feel stronger and more energetic than he has in
awhile because of this operation."
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