Rocker Bret Michaels scheduled for surgery

[January 25, 2011]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Bret Michaels is undergoing a procedure in Phoenix to close a hole in his heart.

Doctors discovered the hole in the rocker's heart in April while treating him for a brain hemorrhage.

A surgical team at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center was performing the procedure Monday. The hospital said the rocker would undergo a cardiac catheterization during which doctors planned to insert a catheter into a vein in the groin and guide wires and a closure device into the heart with cameras assisting doctors as they operate to close the hole.

The closure device remains in Michaels' heart permanently to stop abnormal blood flow between the two chambers of the heart.

Doctors say without the procedure, Michaels risks developing blood clots and an additional stroke.

[Associated Press]

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