Bret Michaels is recovering in hospital after undergoing successful surgery to close a hole in his heart.

A surgical team at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix performed the operation on Monday (January 24).

Doctors discovered the hole when Michaels was being treated for a brain haemorrhage last year. The Poison star also suffered a “warning stroke” last May.

Without undergoing the operation, the musician would have been at risk of further strokes, doctors said.

The Canadian Press said Michael's operation had been a success and that he was now recovering.

(by Jason Gregory)