Initial concerns
Last month the world of motorsport expressed its closeness to the former F1 driver Heikki Kovalainenwho had announced the possibility of open heart surgery following the diagnosis of an aortic aneurysm. A health problem that had prevented the Finn from being able to participate in the All-Japan Rally Championship, and which therefore pushed the winner of the 2008 Hungarian GP to be admitted to Tampere hospital for the operation.
The operation
The former McLaren, Renault, Caterham and Lotus F1 representative recently published a video on social media, in which he fortunately confirmed the success of the operation with a comforting message, indicating that he had begun a recovery phase at home at the same time: “Late last year I was diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm – has explained – it’s a part that had expanded quite a bit. This is obviously why I couldn’t participate in rallies or other activities during the winter. Over the past few months, with a team of doctors, I have been evaluating the options. We decided for the operation and last week I performed it at Tampere University Hospital, in the cardiac surgery department. A wonderful team of doctors, nurses and assistants took care of me. It was open heart surgery, so I will have marks on my chest forever. But the surgery went well. We managed to do exactly what we set out to do. The diseased part of the ascending aorta was cut and an artificial graft inserted. All went well. It was obviously a big operation. A couple of days later I felt a little sick, but things have gotten a lot better since then“.
Recovery started to get back behind the wheel
After the operation, Kovalainen returned home to continue his recovery phase, remaining positive also in view of a regular return to his activities which he had been forced to abandon: “I’m back home and I’m already recovering – he added – the prospects are quite good. There is the possibility of making a full recovery and regaining full physical fitness, but of course only time will tell how it will end. So far the estimates are pretty good, so I’m very satisfied. In the meantime, I continue to recover and try to get out and increase my activities little by little. The main thing is of course that the chest bone has time to heal. Once all this is over, if things go well, I hope to be able to return to my normal activities. I hope to see you again soon.”
