Studs Terkel, 93, has heart surgery

Writer, radio host and oral historian Studs Terkel, a 93-year-old Chicago icon, has been released from the hospital there after undergoing risky open-heart surgery.

Terkel, who walked out of Rush University Medical Center Wednesday, underwent six hours of surgery Aug. 9 to replace a narrowed aortic valve and redo one of five coronary bypasses he had nine years ago, doctors said.

“To my knowledge, Studs is the oldest patient to undergo this complex redo,” said Dr. Marshall Goldin, the surgeon who operated on the Pulitzer Prize winner. “His progress is spectacular. He is recovering physically and mentally as well as someone half his age.”

Terkel said he intends to continue working. In addition to writing his memoirs, he plans to help promote his new book, “And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey,” a collection of interviews with performers such as Louis Armstrong and Bob Dylan. It is due out next month.