Jimmy Kimmel opens up about his son’s heart operation

Jimmy Kimmel’s newborn son’s operation on his heart was "the longest three hours" of his life.

The 48-year-old American television presenter announced his wife, Molly McNearney, gave birth to their child William on April 21, but the tiny tot had to undergo an invasive procedure within a matter of hours after he was born because he had "two defects in his heart", which left the parents fearing the worse.

Speaking openly about his brood on Monday’s (05.01.17) episode of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, the show’s host – who also has daughters Katie, 25, Jane, two, and 23-year-old son Kevin – said: "On Monday morning, Dr. Vaughn Starnes opened his chest and fixed one of the two defects in his heart. He went in there with a scalpel and did some kind of magic that I couldn’t even begin to explain.

"He opened the valve, and the operation was a success. It was the longest three hours of my life."

During the programme Jimmy thanked the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the medical experts for taking care of his child.

William has since left the hospital to settle in at home with his family, and the funnyman has revealed his child is doing "great" following the operation and is doing "all the things" babies should do, including peeing on his mother.

He continued: "He’s doing great. He’s eating. He’s sleeping. He peed on his mother today while she was changing his diaper. He’s doing all the things that he’s supposed to do."

Despite the initial complications, Jimmy has admitted he loves fatherhood and has credited it as "the best".

He said: "This is the best."