Former Philippine president Joseph Estrada underwent a successful knee replacement surgery at the Adventist Hospital in Hong Kong of China on Friday, the local television network ABS-CBN News reported Saturday.

The former president was brought to the operating room around 2p.m. Friday and was under the knife for six hours. He was under general anesthesia during the operation. The media was barred from covering the surgery, reported ABS-CBN.

Doctors operated on Estrada's right knee first, and then on the left. He was reportedly resting as of posting time. He took pain killers after the surgery.

He was accompanied by his wife, Senator Loi Ejercito, and his personal physician, Lorenzo Jocson.

Estrada's doctor, Dr. Christopher Mow, supervised the operation since his license to conduct an operation in Hong Kong has yet to be released. Estrada was reportedly operated on by Dr. Julienne Chang, one of the best orthopedic surgeons in Hong Kong and a good friend of Mow.

Estrada is set to return home on Jan. 15, unless he submits a petition for an extension before the Sandiganbayan, a special court investigating corruption charges against him.

Source: Xinhua