Romanian businessman Dinu Patriciu underwent a liver transplant in the Niguarda hospital in Milan on December 21, according to the Romanian press. There were no post-surgery complications, but the doctors say that the following days are critical for the patient.

“The difficulty of the surgery and the complexity of hepatic transplants in general require that we be extremely cautious in the first four days after the operation”, stated one of the doctors involved in the operation, as quoted by the PROtv local TV station.

Patriciu was operated in a high-tech clinic with 4,100 staff, more than 750 doctors and over 2,000 nurses, according to PROtv. Niguardia’ s general surgery and transplant team comprises nine doctors, while the chief surgeon has performed more than 3,500 abdominal organ transplants so far.

Patriciu is to remain in hospital in Milan for two weeks to recover from the complex operation and he is then to continue treatment so as to avoid graft rejection. The Romanian businessman had been diagnosed with an advanced form of cirrhosis, and he remained on the liver transplant waiting list for months on end. The complex surgery is estimated to have cost EUR150, 000.

Rumors about Patriciu’s critical health state have been circulating in the Romanian press since October this year, with local tabloids quoting sources from the businessman’s entourage to confirm suspicions as to his altered state of health. “Patriciu has had problems with his liver ever since he was a young boy, but he never spoke publicly about it,” said the unidentified source at the time. “In business it’s not good to let your opponents know your weaknesses”.

In March this year, Patriciu was the only Romanian billionaire to make it on the Forbes list, ranked 854^th among the global richest of the rich, with an estimated total worth of USD 1.5 billion. Patriciu (62) is married and he has two children. The main sources of his wealth are oil, real-estate and retail.

In 1998, Patriciu took control over Romanian oil company Rompetrol, rising to the status of most controversial local business man, permanently questioned on how he made his first million dollars. In August 2007, he sold 75 percent of his Rompetrol shares to Kazmunaigaz (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned power operator, in a deal estimated to be worth around USD 3 billion. In June 2009, Patriciu sold the remaining 25 percent to KMG. His subsequent investments focused on retail and real-estate. In 2012, he is supposed to have sold the Mic.ro chain of neighborhood stores, while his MiniMax  network of discount shops went bankrupt, according to his Forbes profile. Patriciu’s oil and gas prospecting plans are rumored to be allotted a budget as high as USD 1 billion. The businessman also owns press group Adevarul Holding.

Ioana Jelea, ioana.jelea@romania-insider.com

photo source: agerpres