Bill Clinton's Operation A Success

Surgeons successfully removed fluid and scar tissue from Bill Clinton's chest cavity Thursday, cleaning up minor complications from the former president's heart bypass operation of six months ago.

Clinton was "awake and resting comfortably" after four hours of surgery, said Herbert Pardes, president of New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. His wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and daughter Chelsea were with him and are said to be pleased with the outcome.

The surgery began at 7 a.m. — about two hours after Clinton arrived in an SUV at the Manhattan hospital on a brisk winter morning.

Clinton, 58, told doctors he was looking forward to getting on with his recovery. Doctors expect him to make a full recovery, which could take anywhere from three to 10 days.

Clinton underwent heart bypass surgery in September because of clogged arteries. Doctors described Thursday's operation as a low-risk procedure to relieve a complication that crops up in only a fraction of 1 percent of bypass patients.

CBS News Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin spoke with Dr. Jeffrey Gold, a heart and lung surgeon, about Clinton's discomforts and how the surgery was slightly more difficult than expected.

Gold said plan A for the surgery was to use a small hole through which the scar tissue buildup was preliminarily assessed to insert a small instrument.

"They would then pass through a similar port a small grasping instrument directly through, to try to carefully identify the scar tissue and slowly remove it piece by piece," Gold said. But that small hold didn't suffice.

"Plan B was to make a small incision on the side of his chest … and then carefully tease out the abnormal tissue — remove all the scar tissue — allowing his normal lung to re-expand," Gold told Kaledin.

The scar tissue was pressing down on Clinton's left lung, causing discomfort and reduced lung capacity. Dr. Joshua Sonett, one of Clinton's surgeons, said at a news conference that the combination of fluid and scar tissue had decreased Clinton's lung capacity by 25 percent before the operation.

The operation typically is done either through a small incision or with a video-assisted scope inserted between the ribs. The patient is given general anesthesia.

The Secret Service, police and hospital security staff conducted a sweep of the walkways and corridors as Clinton was whisked inside through a side entrance before the operation. He arrived in an SUV that pulled inside a hospital gate, providing quick access inside.

The former president had been in Florida on Wednesday at a charity golf tournament to benefit tsunami victims. He appeared relaxed, cracking jokes about his golf game and saying he wasn't worried about the surgery.

More than 1,000 people sent the 42nd president good wishes through his Web site.

Across the street from the hospital, good wishes and prayers for Clinton were offered at a restaurant named El Presidente. "I pray to God that he is well, that he comes out healthy," said manager Wilton Rafael Marte Fermin.

The Clintons asked well-wishers to make donations to the American Heart Association, which set up a special location for such contributions on its web site.

In the days before Thursday's surgery, Mr. Clinton was clearly taking his whole situation in stride.

"I've had an unusual life," he said Wednesday in Florida, where he appeared at a charity golf tournament. "If something happens, if I get struck by lightning on the golf course today, I'd wind up ahead of where 99.99 percent of the people that ever lived ... I'm just grateful for every day when the sun comes up. But it is not a dangerous procedure, unless something totally unpredictable happens."

Mr. Clinton said he knew he needed the operation before he and Mr. Bush embarked on a tour of tsunami-ravaged countries last month and scheduled it around the trip and the golf tournament, which was expected to raise about $2 million for tsunami victims.