Embattled Senator Mike Duffy  is recovering in an Ottawa hospital after undergoing open-heart surgery.

The chief of the cardiac unit at Ottawa’s  Heart Institute, Doctor Marc Ruel, conducted the surgery to clear up Duffy’s blocked arteries.

It’s  the second such procedure for the suspended Senator since 2006.

This comes  as the R-C-M-P investigate Duffy’s repayment of 90-thousand dollars in expenses – in an alleged deal with the Prime Minister’s Office.