Lady Thatcher to undergo arm operation

Baroness Thatcher is set to have an operation on her upper arm after breaking it in a fall last week. The former prime minister will stay in London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for several more days after the operation, which is scheduled for Friday, her private secretary Mark Worthington said. He said: "Lady Thatcher is to undergo a routine surgical procedure to insert a pin into the bone of her upper arm in order to assist the healing process. Therefore she will be remaining in hospital for the time being." Her son, Sir Mark Thatcher, said Lady Thatcher, 83, is "very well" and "alert and talking about Ladies Day at Ascot". But Sir Mark acknowledged the family's concern about Lady Thatcher, 83, who broke her arm in a fall, saying: "I think every son is always worried about his mother's health, whatever her age." Lady Thatcher has had intermittent health scares since she was forced from power by her own Conservative Party in 1990. She suffered a series of mild strokes in late 2001 and 2002 and cancelled several engagements a few months later due to an undisclosed illness. On the advice of her doctors, she cancelled her public speaking schedule and cut back personal appearances. Lady Thatcher's daughter Carol revealed in 2008 that her mother had been suffering from dementia for several years and often struggled to remember things; including that her husband Denis had died in 2003.

» More on this story... «

ITN | June 18, 2009

Tags:. .age. .daughter. .doctors. .assist. .process