(Updates with doctors' statements in paragraphs 3-4) By Gideon Long SANTIAGO, Chile, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean general accused of torture, killings and other abuses during his 17-year dictatorship, suffered a heart attack on Sunday and underwent emergency surgery. A hospital doctor described the 91-year-old's medical condition as "satisfactory" but said Pinochet was still seriously ill. The doctor, Juan Ignacio Vergara, said the medical team was not considering carrying out a further operation for the moment, unless Pinochet's condition worsened significantly. "We have to make every effort not to reach that point," he said. Pinochet, who faces numerous charges related to his iron-fisted 1973-90 rule, was rushed to a hospital in the capital Santiago at about 2 a.m. (0500 GMT). He was given the Roman Catholic last rites -- traditionally administered by a priest to the dying -- before surgeons subjected him to an angioplasty to unblock clogged arteries. Pinochet's son, Marco Antonio Pinochet, said after the operation his father was in a "pretty serious state" and doctors decided to operate "to practically bring him back from death." "We're in the hands of God and the doctors," he said. He described the operation on his father as a bypass but doctors said this was not the case. An angioplasty involves inserting a tube and a balloon into the arteries and then inflating the balloon to ensure the flow of blood to the heart. Pinochet's relatives and friends rushed to his bedside. His former personal secretary, Monica Ananias, was in tears as she arrived at the clinic. Around 50 Pinochet supporters gathered outside the hospital, waving photos of him. One held a large red, white and blue Chilean flag. Others wept and chanted his name. "If I could, I would give a bit of my own life to the general to allow him to keep going," a woman told reporters as tears rolled down her cheeks. FUNERAL PLANS Pinochet's latest illness revived speculation over how the Chilean government would handle a funeral for the former dictator. Some Chileans say he should be given full state honors while others would regard that as a disgrace. Government spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber declined to discuss the issue. Pinochet has been in frail health for some time. He has spent the past few years in Santiago fighting allegations of human rights abuses and fraud. Under his rule more than 3,000 people died in political violence, many at the hands of secret police. Concerted efforts have failed to bring Pinochet to trial. His defense lawyers have always successfully argued that he was too ill to face charges. Pinochet marked his birthday last week by issuing a statement accepting "political responsibility" for acts committed during his rule. "Today, close to the end of my days, I want to make clear that I hold no rancor toward anybody, that I love my country above all else," he said. Two days later he was placed under house arrest in the murder of two bodyguards of former Marxist President Salvador Allende, the man he overthrew in a 1973 coup. Despite Pinochet's dismal human rights record, some Chileans love him and say he saved Chile from Marxism. But many abandoned him after it emerged in 2004 that he had stashed $27 million in secret offshore bank accounts during his presidency. In addition to the 3,000 killed or "disappeared" during the dictatorship, some 28,000 people were tortured and thousands of Chileans fled the country. (Additional reporting Monica Vargas, Manuel Farias, Rodrigo Martinez and Pav Jordan)
