Beilein undergoes successful heart procedure

8/7/2018

Michigan basketball coach John Beilein underwent a heart procedure Monday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANN ARBOR — Michigan coach John Beilein had a successful double bypass procedure, according to the university.

Beilein, who guided Michigan to the national championship game in April, underwent the scheduled operation Monday at UM’s Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center.

“I feel grateful and blessed that this surgery was performed at the University of Michigan,” Beilein said in a statement. “Kathleen and our family appreciate all of the world-class care that was provided for us. Dr. Kim Eagle, Dr. Francis Pagani, Dr. Stanley Chetcuti, and all of their staffs at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center are so talented and performed like champions over this past week. I am going to work very hard in my rehabilitation to be stronger than ever by the time practice begins for this upcoming season.”

Beilein, who’s expected to fully recover, should be released from the hospital later this week. The university said he will be ready for the 2018-19 season, but assistant coach Saddi Washington will serve as interim head coach for the team’s upcoming trip to Spain.

“Coach Beilein underwent a two-vessel coronary bypass graft surgery Monday morning,” said Dr. Pagani, the program director for the Michigan Medicine Center for Circulatory Support and surgical director of the adult heart transplant program. “The procedure is designed to improve blood flow to the heart by taking a healthy artery or vein from another part of the body and grafting it to the obstructed coronary artery. The operation went well, and we expect him to make a full recovery and be back to his usual activities within a few weeks.”

Contact Kyle Rowland at krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110 or on Twitter @KyleRowland.