Baku, August 24, AZERTAC 

President of the Slovak Republic Andrej Kiska was released from the Teaching Hospital in Plzen after a minimally invasive hip joint surgery, according Czech News Agency. Kiska left the clinic on crutches. He told reporters waiting outside that he feels very well in view of the operation. He reiterated that he had undergone the surgery in Plzen on the recommendation of Slovak doctors and he thanked the doctors and the staff of the Plzen hospital.

"I believe that I will be rehabilitating as soon as possible since there is a lot of work and I would like to be back in office in the shortest possible time," Kiska said.

Then he got in a car without help and the presidential motorcade of accompanying vehicles, including police cars, left the hospital complex. Kiska´s spokesman Roman Krpelan told CTK that the president would drive to Prague from where he would fly aboard a small special plane to Slovakia. Surgeon Petr Zeman, who led the operation team and looked after Kiska in hospital said Kiska had tried to walk without crutches even today, but he should use them for a week or two. "Then president was a very responsible patient, he followed all our pieces of advice and he cooperated with us very well," Zeman said. The post-operative treatment continues excellently, Kiska did not need pain-killers today and his rehabilitation is successful, Zeman added.

Kiska will be in care of Slovak doctors from now on. Experts from the Plzen will be in touch with his Slovak doctors in Poprad and Bratislava where he will be rehabilitated. Kiska had changes on his hip joint like other people who do sport in their youth. The joint condition worsens with age. Doctors decided to perform the minimally invasive surgery at a highly specialized hospital abroad after all conservative treatment methods were applied, but without the desired effect. The surgery was without any complications. Kiska will now be on crutches for two or three weeks. Convalescence usually lasts six weeks. The Plzen hospital was recommended to Kiska because this type of surgery is not offered in Slovakia, Krpelan said.

The Plzen hospital carries out 70 to 100 operations of this type annually and its patients include top athletes. The method was introduced to the hospital by doctor Petr Nepras, who was on a study stay in the United States in 2006. He was also on the team that operated on Kiska. The Plzen clinic is a training centre of this method for the whole Central and Eastern Europe.