Caption - **Hip-hop heart-trob Brian Littrell has had a hole in his heart since birth.**
BACKSTREET BOYS hunk Brian Littrell is set to undergo delicate surgery to repair a hole in his heart.
The 23-year-old teen idol has had the condition since birth, but the time has come to correct the defect.
"Brian's doctors have kept a close eye on him over the years with regular checkups," a source tells STAR.
"They've decided it's time to finally deal wih the problem, and he'll have the operation in the spring."
Says Brian: "I have ventricular septal defect (VSD). I was born with a heart murmur. It's something I've lived with for 23 years. I feel like a heart doctor with I talk about it."
Brian will go undr the knife after the boys end their current tour Maay 8. The band - which hit the big time with its chart-topping single, Quit Playin' Games (With My Heart) - will then take two months off before going back on tour on July 8, giving Brian plenty of time to recover.
Cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, author of Optimum Health, tells STAR the exertion required to perform on stage can worsen VSD symptoms.
"The physical and emotional stress of performing on stage several hours each night can cause shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness and lightheadedness in someone with VSD," says Sinatra. "Any kind of stress increases the pressure inside the heart.
"That's probably why he's having surgery."
He says every surgery has risks, "but correction VSD by suturing the hole is pretty safe nowadays. If there are no complications, Brian should be out of the hospital within a week.
"Most patients who have this type of surgery feel really good after six to eight weeks," Sinatra says.
"Young patients like Brian heal even faster. But he should relax and avoid excitement the first few weeks after the operation.
"Fixing his heart will give him increased energy and more stamina," says the doctor.
--ROSEMARIE LENNON