CNN's Larry King undergoes surgery

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Veteran CNN talk show host Larry King had surgery on Friday to clear an artery blockage but plans to return to work on Monday to interview U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, the network said.

King, 73, emerged from the scheduled operation without any complications and was alert and talking to his staff by the afternoon, CNN spokeswoman Bridget Leininger said.

"He was actually already giving orders to us for Monday," she said.

The operation, called a carotid endarterectomy, removes plaque that can build up in a patient's carotid artery, a blood vessel that supplies the neck and head.

The procedure was performed on King at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Leininger said.

"Larry is doing great and he is excited to be back on the air Monday night with an interview with Sen. Barack Obama as we mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war," CNN said in a statement.

King, who will celebrate 50 years in the broadcast business in May and has hosted "Larry King Live" on CNN for 22 years, underwent quintuple bypass heart surgery in 1987.