Former Dunedin mayor Peter Chin has come through a bypass operation with flying colours, days after collapsing on an Air New Zealand flight.
Mr Chin (73) was operated on yesterday and was last night slowly regaining consciousness in Dunedin Hospital's intensive care unit, spokesman Rodney Bryant said.
''He's come through without any complications at all - it was all very straightforward - and he's now recovering,'' Mr Bryant said.
If his recovery continued, Mr Chin was expected to be moved into a general ward in the next day or two, Mr Bryant said.
''One of the things that Peter has got going for him is that he was pretty fit, and that will certainly assist in his recovery.
''But he's also 73 years old, so it's a significant operation.''
Mr Chin, who was mayor from 2004 to 2010, collapsed shortly after Flight NZ5032 left Dunedin for Wellington just before noon on New Year's Eve.
He was pulled to the floor by a female flight attendant and resuscitated as the flight returned to Dunedin.
Speaking from Dunedin Hospital last week, Mr Chin said he ''owed his life''' to the quick actions of the attendants.
