LAGUNA BEACH : Chief Recuperating After Heart Surgery

Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. is recovering at home this week after undergoing open-heart surgery, Deputy Chief Jim Spreine said Monday.

“He’s in good spirits,” Spreine said. “He’s doing fine. He’s very tired and certainly needs some rest.”

Doctors performed the quadruple-bypass surgery on Jan. 19 after an examination revealed that some coronary blood vessels were partially collapsed, Spreine said.

Purcell was released from the hospital Sunday.

This is the second time in recent months that the chief has been hospitalized because of heart problems.

In October he underwent an angioplasty and atherectomy after doctors discovered he had a blocked coronary artery.

Angioplasty involves using a balloon-tipped catheter to expand the diameter of the artery, according to a spokeswoman at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where both the earlier procedures and last week’s surgery were performed.

The atherectomy consists of using another catheter with a small rotating blade to shave away plaque.

Spreine said that he has not talked to Purcell since the surgery about whether or not he will return to work but that he expects the chief to resume his duties after a four- to six-week recovery period.

“I don’t know all the medical complications or whatever, so I really can’t tell you,” Spreine said. “I expect him to come back to work, (but) I have not sat down and talked to the chief about what his future goals are.”

The hospital would release no further details about Purcell’s prognosis.

During his illness, family, friends and city employees have been very supportive of Purcell, who has been police chief in Laguna Beach for more than 11 years, Spreine said.

“All I can tell you is when I walked into his room, I thought I was in a floral shop,” he said. “We want him back here. We’re proud of our chief.”