Today, King Harald underwent heart valve surgery at Rikshospitalet.
The operation was successful, and the king’s condition is good, Norway’s Royal House announced.
The king was awake during the operation, and the operation was performed via the groin with local anesthesia.
A successful operation
In a press release, the king’s personal physician, Bjørn Bendz, stated that the operation was performed in a hybrid room, a mixture of an X-ray laboratory and an operating room.
“A temporary pacemaker was first installed. The procedure itself was then performed via a carotid artery in the groin. A new biological heart valve was then inserted and placed inside the old valve,” he explained.
After the operation, King Harald was transferred to the intensive care unit at Rikshospitalet for further observation.
The king will be on sick leave until October.
Operated in 2005
King Harald also underwent an operation on the heart valve between the heart and the main artery in 2005.
He had an artificial heart valve inserted at the time.
Such heart valves have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years – it’s therefore not uncommon for such interventions to be repeated after some time.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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