By Xinhua
Canberra : East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was expected to make a “full recovery” after he was wounded in a plotted coup, the head of the Royal Darwin Hospital said Tuesday.
The hospital’s general manager Len Notaris told ABC Radio that Ramos-Horta was transferred to the hospital late Monday for emergency medical treatment after he was shot at least twice by rebels outside his Dili home earlier in the day.
Three surgeons operated on Ramos-Horta for two to three hours Monday night, dressing bullet wounds and removing shrapnel.
Although the wounds are serious, Ramos-Horta was expected to make a “full recovery”, Notaris said.
“I would expect that he is quite resilient and I expect that recovery would be a full recovery,” Notaris said.
He added that Ramos-Horta, who remains in an induced coma, will undergo further surgery. According to the doctor, the most significant injury was to the lower portion of the right lung.
“The most severe is a wound to his lower right chest, there were soft tissue wounds to the back and around the area of the shoulder blade.
“We’ll have to go back to theatre, probably in the next 24-26 hours, for some more staged surgery, but at this stage the condition is quite stable.”