Regis Philbin Out of Surgery and Doing Fine

Regis Philbin successfully went through triple-bypass surgery in New York Wednesday morning. There were no complications and the surgery went very well. Philbin is now recovering at New Yorks Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Kelly Ripa, co-host on Live with Regis and Kelly, says that Philbin was back to his crotchety ways. Hes been up joking around with nurses and hospital staff as well as harassing people.

Ripa made these announcements on air Thursday morning, during their daily TV show. She also told the audience that doctors claim that Regis has the heart of a 19 year old. This is exciting news since Regis is not getting any younger. Philbin is 75 and still as lively as ever.

Many fans of Philbin and Ripa will most likely want more detailed information on the stars medical state and updates are sure to keep coming. Philbins doctors have spoken out about their patient and said that he should be back in front of the cameras in about five weeks. This is the normal recovery time for such surgeries.

The surgery was performed at New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center by Dr. O Wayne Isom. This is the same doctor that successfully performed a quintuple-bypass surgery on another talk show host, David Letterman. This surgery was completed in January of 2000 and David Letterman has since spoke several times of the procedure on air.

Philbin had announced his plan to go in for surgery on Monday's show. He had been out on vacation for a week before the announcement. Regis said on the show "I had been feeling chest pains, you know, and, uh, shortness of breath and all those little symptoms that you hear about. He had been told "there's some plaque in some arteries and I've got to get it cleaned out."

This is not the first time Regis has undergone surgery on his heart. In 1993 Philbin had an angiogram to ensure that his heart was okay. He recovered quickly then and seems to be doing just as well now.

Ripa promised her co-host that she would be his personal sponge bath nurse. She announced that this will be her primary task and the show will come second.

While Philbin is away from the show Ripa will be entertaining a slew of temporary co-hosts. On Tuesday, Anderson Cooper visited the show for day 1 of a 2 day visit. The future co-hosts include Martin Short, Howie Mandel, Neil Patrick Harris, Pat Sajak, Jeff Probst and Donald Trump.

Sources:
Yahoo (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070315/tv_nm/regis_dc_2)
E-Online (http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=042b6636-9734-4934-97cf-b5313d5d3f57)