Turkish MP for Istanbul Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a member of the Kurdish nationalist People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) and who only a few days ago met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss negotiations for the disarmament and dissolution of the PKK, is in critical condition after suffering a serious heart problem that has forced him to undergo a 12-hour emergency operation.
Turkish news agencies reported that Önder, 62, a native of Adıyaman, was taken last night to a hospital in the Şişli district by ambulance after losing consciousness while at his home in the Beşiktaş district. In a statement, the hospital reported that the Turkish politician was admitted to the emergency room at 10:41 p.m. local time (9:41 p.m. CET) on 15 April without a pulse, intubated and with ER staff performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); after 10 minutes they managed to restore the patient’s pulse, and once several tests were carried out, they determined that he was suffering from Type I Aortic Dissection.
After suffering an arrhythmia and a new loss of pulse at 23:05, he was resuscitated again and admitted to the surgery room at 23:35, where Önder underwent a surgical intervention of great complexity that lasted for about 12 hours, in which ‘he underwent a coronary bypass in the right coronary artery, the aortic valve was replaced and grafting and anastomosis procedures were carried out on the entire aorta’.
After the operation, the hospital reported that ‘the heart is functioning well, but the patient remains in intensive care and his state of health is still critical’, so his life is still in danger. Turkish Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu confirmed that the operation was due to ‘a rupture of the main artery coming out of the heart.’
His party describes the MP’s condition as ‘very serious’
Several prominent members of the DEM party, including the party’s co-president Pervin Buldan, travelled to the hospital to learn about Önder’s situation. Ayşegül Doğan, the party’s spokesperson, confirmed to the media that the MP’s situation is very serious, adding that Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan is also closely following the information about Önder’s progress.
Numerous political voices in Turkey have expressed their support for Sırrı Süreyya Önder, including the Turkish vice-president Cevdet Yılmaz, who conveyed his ‘best wishes’ and wished him a ‘speedy recovery’. For his part, the president of the Turkish parliament – of which Önder is also vice-president – Numan Kurtulmuş, declared in a statement that ‘we are closely following the information about his treatment, and we wish him a speedy and full recovery.’
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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