Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has undergone surgery to relieve pressure on his brain following his fall from a palm tree, his spokesperson confirmed on Monday.
Richards (62) underwent the operation in Auckland, New Zealand, where he was taken for treatment to a brain haemorrhage following the accident on the south Pacific Ocean island of Fiji two weeks ago.
His spokesperson told Britain’s domestic Press Association news agency that the procedure, which involved drilling a hole in Richards’s skull to drain blood from the brain, was a ”complete success”.
”Keith was under observation in Auckland following a fall in Fiji and was feeling well since being examined by doctors last week,” he was quoted as saying in the dispatch out of London.
”However, after complaining of headaches yesterday [Sunday] doctors thought it prudent to move ahead with a small operation to remove the pressure.
”The operation was a complete success with Keith already up and chatting to his family today [Monday]. He will need a few weeks’ recuperation.”
Richards’s wife, Patti Hansen, was at his side at the MercyAscot Hospital and he was sitting up and talking, he added.
Concert dates on the Stones’ European tour were rescheduled following Richards’s mishap. The rocker will now join the band in Barcelona on May 27 for the next leg of their world tour, his spokesperson said.
Richards was apparently climbing the tree at the luxury Wakaya Club resort with fellow band member Ron Wood (58) when he fell and hit his head, reportedly sustaining minor concussion.
Some reports said he was later also involved in a jet-ski accident. — AFP
