(Adds physician's statement, updates length of operation)

MANILA, April 10 (Reuters) - The husband of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was recovering on Tuesday after a successful 10-hour operation to repair his heart's main artery, his doctor said.

Jose Miguel Arroyo, widely known as Mike, was awake after the surgery, which ended at 5 a.m. (2100 GMT), Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes told reporters outside St. Luke's hospital, where the First Gentleman had a coronary angioplasty in December.

The scandal-prone lawyer was discovered to have a swelling in his aorta, the main artery carrying blood from the heart, after complaining of severe abdominal pain over the Easter weekend.

"The mere fact that he is awake is already a remarkable achievement," Gopez-Cervantes said.

Mike Arroyo, 60, has cast a long shadow over his wife's presidency, starting in 2003 when he was accused of salting away nearly $5 million in campaign funds and of having an affair with an accountant.

Allegations that he and his son received kickbacks from gambling syndicates triggered two failed impeachment bids against Arroyo in 2005 and 2006 and he volunteered to leave the country in 2005 to alleviate pressure on the presidency.

He returned quietly from the United States a few months later.

Arroyo's two sons are running for Congress in elections on May 14. The couple also have a daughter.

Every year, the local media covers Mike giving his wife red roses on their wedding anniversary but there have long been rumours that the two are estranged. Arroyo has always insisted they are happy together.

Her husband has an uneasy relationship with the press. He has filed more than 40 libel complaints against local newspapers that have criticised his alleged meddling in government affairs or accused him of links to gambling and smuggling operators.

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